


Into The Light

by lilidelafield



Series: The Return Of Jeff Tracy [4]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2019-09-05 18:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 44,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilidelafield/pseuds/lilidelafield
Summary: The Tracy family return from their holiday feeling rejuvenated and ready for action. They have a lot of work ahead, preparing and building a new, more secure Thunderbird Five, and getting ready to get back out in the field. But the Hood has not been idle either. Plans that he has long had in hand come to fruition, and once again the Tracys are faced with the loss of everything they hold dear . . .If you have not read Out Of The Blue, this work can still be read and enjoyed on its own merits.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Previously in Out Of The Blue;  
> Jeff Tracy, having been missing for more than two years was found alive and well, having recently regained his memory. On learning that his nemesis was alive after all, and back with his family, The Hood furiously brought forward his plans to destroy the Tracys and their Thunderbirds once and for all in an all-out attack. Having succeeded in destroying Thunderbird Five, and almost succeeding in destroying the good name of International Rescue, he had then attacked several members of the family personally, including his own niece, Kayo. By working together, The Tracys, Lady Penelope and Parker with the assistance of Colonel Casey and the GDF succeeded in saving the day. The Hood was defeated; but managed to escape in the final confusion.
> 
> Meanwhile, Thunderbird Five is no more, and International Rescue remains out of commission until the Tracy family are fully recovered from their ordeal...
> 
> (Grandma Tracy has been renamed Sally in this story, as per TAG.)

The silence was unnerving.

Jeff Tracy was finally at home and relaxed on his beloved island. He had spent the last few weeks reading all the mission reports; and looking through Brains' electronic files with the scientist's blessing of course, to update himself on all that had happened to his sons and to International Rescue during the time that he was missing. He had examined the ships and all the new gear that Brains had created during his absence and was again floored by the professional way his sons had handled everything without him.

His sons really did not need his help to run International Rescue. They might have thought they did, but they had coped admirably with everything that had been thrown at them.

He missed his boys.

Home was all about Tracy Island, of course it was. But really, home meant _family_. He had been fully supportive of his sons' desire and need to go off on a camping holiday of undetermined length, because they had been through so much they desperately needed it. But Brains had gone off to Australia to consort with a fellow scientist working for Tracy Industries, and mother had also gone off to visit friends. Kayo had been planning to stay with him to keep him company on the island, but she had received an invitation from Lady Penelope to go and stay with her at the Creighton-Ward estate, and so Kayo was currently with Penny, being waited on hand and foot, being pampered and shown off at venues all around Greater London.

Jeff was feeling very lonely, alone at home.

He had been working of course. Tracy Industries had been severely damaged by that business with the Hood, and he had been working hard re-implementing his own tried and tested working philosophies. Even though some of them cost money in setting up and getting off the ground, they had always proved to be worth the money in the long run.

The staff canteens for example. That criminal who had taken over the running of the business in his absence had closed all the canteens in order to skim off the money and had installed cheap machines and pool tables in the former restaurant area instead. He had done away with the fully staffed free creche for employees' young children…he had dispensed with many experienced staff members on the pretext of cost-cutting, making those remaining few take up the slack.

As a result, of course, staff became unhappy at their work, and had started leaving in their droves to find better employers.

Jeff had spent a lot of his time visiting each of his offices and reinstating all the services that he considered contributed to a happy and healthy workforce. He had contacted all the former employees and offered them their former positions back, at a higher rate of pay for all colleagues, together with the promise that every penny illegally denied them would be repaid to them after their first month back at work. This time detailed legal contracts specifying generous compensation payouts in the event of a repeat occurrence were made out for each person.

The creche had been reopened, and staff restaurants had been reestablished, staffed with professional chefs. The staff gym that had been destroyed at the office in Australia had been rebuilt better and larger, and Jeff's office relocated on the floor below.

This was just the beginning of course, but former employees excited at the thought of things returning to the way they had been before under Mister Tracy's personal directorship, had started returning to the fold, and slowly but surely, the company was beginning to show signs of improvement. Now the company was back heading in the right direction, Jeff had returned to the island, knowing that much of his work he could do via holo-conferencing from his home office. He wanted to make sure that when his family returned home, he was there to greet them in person.

Brains was the first to return, flushed and excited at the stimulation of having spend time in the company of one whose mind worked at almost the same speed as his own, and to his delight, almost on the same level too. Brains was eager to get to work down in his lab; but conceded to surface at mealtimes to give his lonely old friend some company upstairs from time to time.

Mrs. Tracy returned home next, tired out from her long journey, but refreshed and invigorated for having had a nice extended break. She had expertly piloted Alan's old biplane _Alan One_ to a stop and put her in her hangar. She found her son waiting for her beside the prop.

"Give us a hug son!" she flashed a grin at him once she was back on the ground. Jeff swept her off her feet in a massive hug.

"Good to see you back ma!" he said, a slight catch in his voice. "I can't tell you how much I have missed you all since you've been gone."

Sally looked slightly surprised.

"Are the boys not home yet?"

He shook his head.

"I hope they are getting the refreshment they need."

She smiled.

"They have all the money they need to go wherever they want to go, and they have each other for support. Why wouldn't they come back refreshed?"

"They've been gone almost six weeks mother. How can anyone stand to camp out for six weeks like that?"

Sally chuckled.

"You managed it for two years or more, son. And enjoyed it from what you've told me. They live in the lap of luxury most of the time. Why wouldn't they have fun roughing it for a bit? Besides, they have a lot to get over. The Hood and his cohorts did a lot of damage there."

Jeff nodded. His mother and three of his sons had been attacked by the Hood, and all of them could so easily have died. The physical damage was bad enough. The mental scarring was infinitely worse. Even Scott had been unable to vote to reactivate International Rescue when Jeff had asked for their private votes on it. Separately they had all indicated that they still wanted IR to continue, but that none of them were ready to return to work yet.

How he hoped his precious baby boys were finding the peace they were seeking so desperately.

He put his arm around his mother and picked up her suitcase with his other hand, and together they made their way to the elevator, that took them up to the main part of the house, just behind the kitchen.

"I'll take your case upstairs, ma, then I'll get some supper on. Anything you fancy?"

His mother smiled.

"Cream and jam scones and a mug of hot chocolate."

"The Jeff Special eh?" he laughed and ruffled her hair. "I can manage that. See you in twenty minutes."

"I'm not _that_ old, I'll have you know. You'll see me in _ten_!"

Laughing, Jeff went back to the kitchen to make a start on supper for three, Once the cocoa was almost ready, Jeff pressed the button on his watch.

"Brains, supper in five if you're interested. Hot chocolate is done."

"Coming!" Came Brains' voice, and sure enough, just moments after Sally reappeared, having ditched her old lady skirt and shawl for her more comfortable tracksuit, Brains came hurrying in, wiping his hands dry on a piece of old, but clean rag. He smiled widely at the sight of the old lady.

"Grandma Tracy! It's good to see you again. Did you enjoy your trip?"

She nodded.

"I did indeed. It's good to catch up with old friends sometimes. The trouble with visiting with old friends, they remind me how much time has passed by. What about your trip? Did you get on alright with your new scientist friend?"

"Yes, it was ex...extremely st...stimulating!"

Jeff handed them each a mug of hot chocolate and placed a large plate of scones in the centre of the table, together with a pot of cream and three pots of jam of different flavours.

"Dig in!"

They were just starting to eat when Eos chimed her customary warning before projecting herself into the room.

"Grandfather…hello Grandma, good to see you again. Grandfather, I am receiving a communication from John. Would you like me to put it through in here?"

"Thank you, Eos, yes if you would!"

The holo-image of Eos changed to that of John. Jeff felt himself smile at the sight of his second son. John had changed. When they had left, John had been, like his brothers, still deep in the throes of stress and trauma, sleeping badly if at all, and although not quite sour-faced, had looked very dark and stern.

This John was smiling and twinkly-eyed. His usually pale complexion had darkened in the sun, and he even looked to have put on a little flesh on his cheeks. He looked healthy, happy and glowing.

"Hi dad! Hey, hi grandma, Brains! How have things been in Tracy-land without us?"

"Dull!" Jeff replied, his mouth responding before his brain clicked into gear. "How are things going with you boys? You are looking good John, I have to say!"

John's grin spread, if possible, even wider.

"We've had a great holiday dad. We must have walked the equivalent of half a continent! We're all a lot better. We've all decided that we're ready to come home. For the last three nights, Scott's been dreaming of his hot bath! Virgil's been dreaming of chocolate bars and Gordon's been dreaming of chlorine!"

Jeff, Grandma and Brains laughed at the chorus of "Hey!" that came from three different voices. John smirked. Suddenly, John was pushed aside, and Virgil's holo-image appeared. He too looked considerably less haggard-looking than he had done previously. He smirked at the three on Tracy Island.

"Hi guys. Actually, John is the one dreaming of chocolate bars! I've been dreaming about my beautiful piano!"

"It's so good to hear from you, honey. When are you all coming home?" Grandma called out. Virgil looked to one side, and they heard a murmur of voices as the brothers were clearly conferring. Then Virgil looked back at them.

"Well…we're at the airport. Scott's already done pre-flight checks on Tracy Two, so how about four hours from now?"

TAG TAG TAG

Scott looked round at his brothers.

"Are you sure you are all ready for this? If we go home now, our holiday will be officially over. After all, dad did give us as much time off as we needed. We could stay away for a year if we want."

"Scott, the long we stay away, the more people who could die because we're not around to save them!" Alan replied. Gordon nodded his agreement.

"We've been out of commission for almost quarter of a year already. The world needs International Rescue!"

Scott smiled at them, then looked at John and Virgil.

"And you two? Are you sure you want to go home and forfeit the chance of a month in the arms of some beautiful blond?"

Virgil glanced back at his two youngest brothers, and grinning, squashed himself between them, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders.

"I have _two_ beautiful blonds in my arms, big brother! Go on, let's get home. I want to sleep tonight on my nice, comfy, springy mattress that is protected from both spiders and mosquitos, is thicker than a slice of pepperoni, has its very own bathroom with doors that I can lock, and running water that comes out _hot_ whenever I fancy it!"

Scott burst out laughing and glanced at John.

"I think he's right, Johnny. Let's go home!"


	2. We're Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The five brothers, having fully recovered from their ordeal at the hands of the Hood are ready to return home and get back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I found this chapter refused to cooperate with any standard formalized presentation, so I thought I would have a little fun just for a change; and present the events in a slightly different way. (Don't worry, I won't make a habit out of this!)

**ALAN**

I couldn't wait to get home, now we were on our way. I had never been camping before, not with my brothers anyway. We went once or twice with the school as learning exercises, but I've discovered that fun as that was, it is nothing like as much fun as camping out with my big brothers.

It was hard at first, because we were all getting over injuries of some kind or another, some of us physically and all of us emotionally. Johnny was only half way through his physiotherapy sessions after breaking his knee, and he found the constant hiking a massive strain at first. He was in a lot of pain to start with, and Virgil had to keep an eye on him, ply him with painkillers when it got too bad. But of course, the more we walked, and we did not rush or anything. We were on holiday after all. We took our time and had plenty of rests and we made sure that nobody was ever left behind; and John's knee became fit and strong and stopped hurting him.

It might seem to some people that for us to go on a camping trip and to stay there for six weeks was going over the top a bit, and maybe it was. We needed it though. We walked through deserts, up mountains, through thick forests and even built ourselves a special raft to carry all our gear so that we could get across a fast moving, and may I say, very wide river. All the while, we were reinforcing our trust in one another. Our skills and abilities, and the talking!

Never have the five of us talked and laughed and cried so much as we did those six weeks. We talked until there was no past problem, no dream or nightmare, no issue that we had not all brought out and discussed.

After that business with the Hood and International Rescue, I started having serious nightmares. It seemed that as soon as I closed my eyes, those terrifying images would keep rushing at me. I must admit that it was trying to rid me of my nightmares that caused us to stay away so long. My brothers were determined that I would be as whole as the rest of them before we showed ourselves back on Tracy Island.

Looking back, they had done a good job. But then, when we all stick together, there is no problem that cannot be solved, right? We had always known that instinctively, but our camping trip proved it. By the time Scott brought Tracy Alpha (our new jet that replaced the destroyed Tracy One) in for touchdown, we felt like five parts of one person…sorry if that sounds cheesy, but that's how it was. We forged rivers, streams, mountains and every problem under the sun together, and we had grown even closer than we had ever been before.

John was Scott's co-pilot, and the rest of us were snugged tightly together in the back, laughing like a trio of schoolboys, all of us excited at the thought of a hot bath or long shower, and a soft, luxury mattress to sleep on.

Tomorrow was another day.

**GORDON**

We were having such fun in the back of the plane, that we were quite surprised when Scott called back to us to strap in to prepare for landing on Tracy Island. Virgil had been humming tunes in his sleep for the past three nights; and had spent much of the trip drumming with his fingers. He was itching to get back to his beloved piano and try out his new tunes. Allie, finally, was looking well rested and eager. He had gone so long without getting any decent rest that he had started to look very haggard.

Then again, we all were I guess. Scott and Virgil were haggard with simply worrying about the rest of us. We were all worrying about the Squirt, and John? Poor John has often been forgotten as we rally around taking care of everyone else. He had nightmares too, although not quite as badly as Alan had; but he had to contend with a broken knee as well, and the pain and difficulty that comes along with that. Once he got the cast off his leg, he had the pain and strain of the physio sessions. It did not help that he had, apparently, been very worried that being not fully fit yet would prove an inconvenience to the rest of us on our holiday. I remember him saying on more than one occasion that if he was too slow, we should just go on without him and he would catch us up when he could.

_As if!_

It did not help that Johnny was still in mourning for the loss of his beloved Thunderbird. After the destruction of Thunderbird Five, so many other things had happened, that losing _Five_ had become an inconvenience that we knew we could rectify at a later date. We had been fighting for our very survival after all. But if it had been _Four_ , I would not have been so quickly diverted either. I know Scott, Alan and Virgil felt the same way as I did. Poor John suffered in silence as he always does. He smiled cheerfully for the rest of us and was there to help and support us, and it was only after a few weeks and a lot of cajoling that he finally broke down and wept openly for the loss of his 'bird, and his home.

It did serve to help him recover though, because that evening became the catalyst that helped us all start to really recover from those terrible events. John and Virgil started discussing their various ideas about the designs for the new Thunderbird Five, and what if any security features could be created and included; including some very radical ideas from Virgil that seemed to get Johnny really excited. After a while, we all were drawn into the conversation. It was then that we started to miss our old lives. It was then we all, as one, realized that we really did want to get back to saving people's lives. Knowing that there were people out there, going about their regular activities with the fear that if something should happen to them, there was no international Rescue to come and bail them out.

We started to look forward to getting back to work.

That was when we knew we were almost ready to come home. All we needed was to help Allie finally lose his nightmares.

**VIRGIL**

What I enjoyed most about our trip, was the fact that I spent six whole weeks not having to worry about any of my brothers. Alright, I kept my eye on Johnny, and made sure he took his pain medication before his pain levels got too bad; and made sure we did not go at a pace that would be too much for him. But that kind of doctoring I do in my sleep these days.

I spent six weeks with my brothers, having fun, and I did not throw up once.

Um…alright, I did once, but not out of fear, worry, stress or grief. That bout of sickness was because in a misguided bout of enthusiasm and misplaced self-confidence, I picked a load of crabapples from a tree and using the meagre supplies I had, tried to make an apple pudding to go with our meal.

It tasted ok, but something was wrong…or maybe I ate too much of the result, but I spent that entire night throwing up, and felt drained all the next day as a result. I have learned that crabapples might be alright if you know what you are doing with them, but I don't. I never tried it again. The others were not brave enough to even taste it, and they were all fine, so logically…?

Anyway, enough of that. I couldn't wait to get together with John and Brains to start going over ideas for the new space station we were going to build. We had to find some way to ensure John's safety, or we would never have the courage to let him go back up there, whatever he might come to feel about it himself. We all love him too much to let him be destroyed along with his Thunderbird. Not when there was something we could do to try and protect him. I had one or two ideas that sounded fantastical even to me, but there was no reason why it could not be done. Why not turn ideas from science fiction into science _fact_? When I first outlined the idea, John stared at me like I was mad, then started laughing and made some joke about Star Trek.

Huh?

John's into that sort of stuff, but I've never been interested in that old show. Apparently, my idea reminded him of something he had seen in one of those old episodes, but what did I know?

More of that later anyway. Normally, I would have been the one to sit with Scott as the co-pilot, but…not a lot of people know this…but John's a really excellent pilot in his own right. He's never been that interested in it, but like Alan, he is a natural. Perhaps it has something to do with being blond? I'm a good pilot, but I had to work my butt off to get to where I am now. Any talent or ability I have as a pilot has nothing to do with any innate ability, but simply hard word, study, practice and more practice.

We can all fly one another's 'birds of course. That was a given rule right from the start. Dad wanted to make sure that we never found ourselves without a pilot for one of our birds simply because its pilot got hurt. But we are all well suited to our own craft. No one flies Two like I can. I know every inch of her engines, her beautiful sleek body…god, now I sound like I am drooling! I can make her do whatever I want. Scott is just the same with Thunderbird One. In Thunderbird Four, Gordon is as at home as he is in his own bathroom, and he knows exactly what she can do and how much she can take. How he stands the cramped, narrow spaces in there I can't imagine. Alan is the one who really impresses us all the most, (although I wouldn't tell him that if I were you! The smugness would be terrifying!) Thunderbird Three is fast and incredibly dangerous. She is, basically, a giant red firework! The immense size of her kills me every time I see her at rest in her silo. The thought that my baby brother…the one whose diapers I clearly remember helping to change and whose butt I remember powdering…sits at the top of that great rocket, with all that power under his fingertips. And yet…I don't know...he is able to make that great red firework do just as he pleases. He can weave her in and out of asteroid fields without a single touch. He knows exactly how much power he has at his disposal, and he handles her with the finesse of a highly skilled craftsman. Sitting beside him, watching him at work in an odd way reminds me of the way I am when I am at my piano. Complete focus and dedication. He knows exactly what he is doing, and how much his craft can take.

As for John, well, it might seem to anyone else, that John's role is a relatively unskilled one. That he is little more than a humanoid ansaphone. How wrong that is!

His Thunderbird was so much more than simply a space station. She was a super-communicator. She had ears that tapped into every single transmission around the globe, however feeble. Imagine how much babble that would produce for a single man to have to listen to and sort through! John was the one who had to keep on top of all those transmissions. He wrote the computer software that listened out for key words or phrases in every language, and directed those calls through to the main console, where John would listen himself, or apply even more clever software to refine the searches further. Once Eos came along, she was an enormous help. After all, John needed downtime just like anyone else.

Of course, John had to be the voice of International Rescue. He had to be able to communicate in a bunch of languages, be firm when necessary, reassuring, informative, helpful, kind…more than that, when obtaining details of a rescue, he had to know just what questions to ask to know what information to pass on to the rest of us. Believe me, that sounds simple, but it is not as simple as you might think!

Of course, in addition to the vocal part of his job, John is the _pilot_ of Thunderbird Five, not the passenger. She has fuel, and Thrusters. True, she orbits the globe like any satellite, but he can direct her at will too. He knows every inch of her. He knows her weight, her strengths, her limits, and he has been able to use her unique properties to save lives on more than one occasion. None of us could have done as much with quite the finesse that John does.

When it came to the planning of a replacement for Five, I would not dream of considering any plans that John had not had a hand in designing. As I sat in the back of the jet, laughing at the idiotic bantering of Gordon and Alan, I found I was looking forward to sitting down with John, dad and Brains to discuss our ideas.

Scott brought us down on the landing strip with his usual practiced ease, and I couldn't help letting out a whoop as the engines were turned off. John appeared, grinning all over his face.

"Happy to be home, Virg?"

I grinned back. Yes, it was certainly good to be home again.

**JOHN**

We had fun on our long break, but it was good to be going home. Scott brought us into land on Tracy Island with grin that virtually split his face in half. It had been a fun flight, too. We could hear our three younger brothers laughing and screeching in the back, whilst Scotty and I kept up a witty banter designed solely to test each other's ability to be as inane as possible.

How long had it been since we were last carefree enough to spend four hours talking complete nonsense just for the hell of it?

Dad was waiting for us, standing beneath the cliff out of the way, with Grandma and Brains beside him. All three were waving frantically. Once we were ready to leave our aircraft, dad brought the steps across from the hangar, and without waiting for us to come out, came bounding up the steps and into the cabin.

"Hey boys, it's so good to have you all home again!" He cried, a big grin on his face. We each got swept into a group hug, which dad was the first to break.

"Grandma is waiting for you all!"

As the two youngest grabbed their backpacks and hurried down into Grandma's waiting arms, dad grabbed me by the shoulder.

"How are you really, John? How has the leg been behaving?"

I smiled.

"Painful and stiff for the first couple of weeks, but the guys were patient, and Virg kept me topped up with pain meds. You know how he is. Now it's fine."

"No more pain?"

I hesitated. I had to be truthful.

"Only if I overdo it, but painkillers and a good sleep usually takes care of it."

He looked deep into my eyes.

"You're sure, son?"

I hugged him.

"Thanks for worrying, but I'm good, dad. We're all fine, and really happy to be back home."

He nodded.

"Good to have you all back, son."

The look in his eyes suggested his last comment had been something of an understatement, but before I could ask further, Scott's head appeared back in the doorway again.

"Come on you two! Brains says he's got MAX cooking pizzas in the oven, and I'm starving!"

I grinned at him, and dad laughed.

"Come on then, let's go eat pizza!"

I have to say, that when we left for our trip, I was as tight and stressed as I have ever been. Sleeping badly, although probably not as badly as poor Alan, still in a fair bit of pain with my knee and worrying about ruining everyone else's holiday with my being half crippled. All of that of course, on top of the mental anguish we were all left dealing with following our encounters with the Hood and his evil plans.

By the time we got back home, forty-five days after we set out, I for one felt so different. It's strange, because it was not as though the things we were worried about had gone away exactly, but having had the chance to relax properly, spend some time with my brothers and talk things out with them, things that had been blown out of all perspective seemed to find their way back to their proper place. I had always been inclined to spend as much of my time as possible up on Five. It was where I had always felt most comfortable. Now, I felt so close to my brothers, I found myself reluctant to leave them all behind.

I would be coming down to planet Tracy much more frequently from here on in…provided of course, we succeeded in creating a new space station that met with the very high security standards my brothers would be insisting upon. But any new station would be months in the building, so for the time being, I was still very much grounded. Before, I might have been horrified at the thought. Now, I was comforted.

Nothing was as bad as it seemed, when I had four loving, caring brothers around me.

**SCOTT**

Oh my, that pizza!

That pizza was the scrummiest, most gorgeous meal I have ever had in my entire life! Grandma brought out fruit and ice-cream to follow, which we devoured eagerly. It was so good to be all around the table once more. Only Kayo was missing, but I had plans to call her at Lady Penelope's place that evening anyhow. She would not likely be busy doing too much with her hostess, because Gordo was very likely planning on calling Penny himself.

We didn't do much that day after arriving home. We unpacked our gear, took a shower and changed, made ourselves as presentable as possible. As the afternoon wore on, Gordo was back out in the pool, John and Alan were in the snug watching movies, Virgil was in the lounge playing the piano, and I wandered about not knowing what to do with myself. Everyone else was busy! Even dad was busy, clipping the hedges that Kyrano had once been so proud of. Finally, I found my feet taking me down to the silos, and into Thunderbird One's silo.

My sleek, silver Thunderbird. I had missed her without even realizing it. I knew there was currently no work needing to be done. We had all spent a lot of time before our holiday whiling the time away by working on our ships, trying to make ourselves too exhausted to be able to stay awake at night worrying.

That had not stopped me, mind you.

It had taken me a long while to admit to the guys how close I had come to breaking this time. If it had not been for Gordon and Virgil, I don't know how far it would have gone. Six weeks of complete freedom. For me, it had been six weeks of not being solely responsible for making life and death decisions. Six weeks of not having to worry about my siblings being sick or injured or comatose. Six weeks without being ripped out of my sleep at two in the morning to attend a disaster on the other side of the world.

I guess lately the feeling of responsibility had been weighing on me heavily. You would have thought that dad's return would have lifted that weight from me but somehow it did not work out that way. If anything, the fear that he would disapprove somehow of the way I had been running the organization, or the changes we had made, caused that burden to feel all the heavier.

As the time went by, living such a simple existence had done something to me. A lightening of the spirits. Lifting the weights off my shoulders. I had become less of the commander and substitute parent, and more the big brother once again.

Boy did it feel good to once more feel lighthearted. Did I want that responsibility back now that dad was home? Would I prefer that he took over the mantle as commander of International Rescue as he had done before he went missing?

To my surprise, I could not decide upon the right answer. Perhaps I should forget it for now, and go watch a movie? Thus decided, I about faced and left the silos behind, and joined my two blond brothers in the snug where they were just starting to watch Frank Capra's _It's a Wonderful Life_.

Yup, I would agree. I was a wonderful life!


	3. Back In My Arms Once Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott and Gordon are reunited with the women they love, and it seems that everything is all set for International Rescue once again. Then, right out of the blue, Virgil gets a shock when he spots someone at a party that he knows for a fact is dead . ..

The large villa nestled into the side of the extinct volcano on Tracy Island once more rang with the sound of joyous, youthful voices. Jeff Tracy's heart soared at the noise. He laughed when Gordon pranked Scott; and laughed when Scott chased Gordon twice through the villa, down to the beach and back again and three times around the swimming pool before the pair of them were pushed into the pool by a smirking Alan. He laughed when John rolled his eyes and turned the page in the book he was reading, He was still laughing when Gordon reached out a wet hand and grabbed his trouser leg and pulled _him_ into the pool.

He surfaced, shaking the water from his eyes and swam to the edge. John laid his book to one side and hauled him out.

"You've forgotten to step back out of the way, dad." John commented drily. "Gordon, pranks and the swimming pool equals everyone within reach getting wet."

His father nodded, ruefully removing his watch and holding it up, watching the chlorinated water dripping from it.

"You're right, John. This belonged to my father, and it is _not_ waterproof."

"Here, give it to me, dad. I'll look at it. Or better yet, give it to Virgil to dry it out."

Gordon heaved himself out of the pool.

"Sorry about the watch, father. Do you want me to ask Brains to fix it?"

His father shook his head.

"Brains will have enough on his hands soon enough. Don't worry son, its only a watch. Gordon, the reason I came out was to tell you that FAB1 is on its way here."

"Penny is coming?" The light shone from Gordon's eyes, and his grin widened still further. His father chuckled and nodded.

"And Kayo of course. They'll be here in about half an hour."

Gordon shot off towards the house at top speed, leaving his family grinning after him. John shot a glance at Alan, then at his father.

"All of us together. Does that mean an IR meeting?"

Jeff nodded.

"Yes, after dinner. Whether, what, how, when…you know the score, son."

John nodded.

"We've been giving it some thought, dad, and we've come up with some ideas for the new Five. You _are_ proposing to rebuild her?"

"That is one of the things we will discuss. There are various options available to us, and we can discuss them all. Right now, I had better go and get myself dried off before Penny comes."

John watched his father return to the house, still dripping wet, and grunted as Alan pushed him back into his deckchair and plonked himself down on his knee.

"Ooh Alan, you're too heavy to do that now, and do you realize your rear is bony?"

Alan grinned at him.

"It's not my butt that's bony John, but your knees. You're still too skinny, do you know that?"

"I'm not skinny! I'm wiry."

Alan laughed.

"I'd like to see you with your skin-tight uniform on, John. If it still fits perfectly, then I'll agree that you're wiry. If it is baggy anywhere, you will have to admit to being skinny!"

"And if it is too tight?"

"Then we will all enjoy watching you squirm until the replacements are ready!"

John waited, knowing his youngest brother had something on his mind. Certainly, Alan was fiddling with John's top shirt button as though attempting to distract himself.

"If you're trying to twist that button right off, I figure it has just another fifteen seconds or so left."

"Sorry." Alan snapped his hands down on to his lap, and stood up suddenly, and sat down at the pool's edge, his legs crossed. John removed his shoes and sat beside him, dangling his now bare feet in the water.

"What's on your mind, Alan?"

"John, what if the Hood tries again?"

"I'm sure he will, Alan. He's nothing if not persistent. But we've beaten him each time so far. We'll beat him again."

Alan turned his head and John could see the earnestness in his gaze. He did not look afraid…yet.

"But his plots have got cleverer and cleverer each time he attacks us, and he's proven he's not even above attempted murder if he thinks he can get away with it. We're not soldiers, John, or even policemen. We just save people. That's all we do. We're not equipped to defend ourselves if he tries something _really_ bad next time."

"What sort of _something really bad_ did you have in mind, Alan?" John asked him, seriously. Alan heaved a sigh.

"It came to me when you and dad were talking about rebuilding Five. The Hood destroyed Thunderbird Five by firing a rocket at her. There was nothing of her left but fragments raining down on us like hail. What if he tries something like that again John? What if next time he aims his rockets at Tracy Island?"

John stared at him, his heart suddenly in his throat. What if the Hood did just that? Tracy Island had screening to scramble radar, but what defense would she have against the worst the Hood had to offer? For a moment, he was at a loss to offer comfort to what was clearly a very real fear. And under the circumstances, a not unreasonable one. He slipped his arm around Alan's shoulders.

"Let's make sure we mention that possibility at the meeting then, shall we? I'm sure Brains and Virgil will have some ideas."

Alan nodded.

"Good idea."

They were silent for a moment, then Alan gave John a sideways glance.

"Sorry Johnny."

"For what?"

"Being negative and pessimistic."

John smiled.

"Is it pessimistic to imagine worst case scenarios and plan against them? Or sensible?"

Alan laughed at that.

"Come on John! When have _I_ ever been sensible? You're the sensible one, remember?"

John grinned.

"According to Scott, I'm both sensible _and_ a pessimist!"

"Is there any such thing? A sensible pessimist?"

"Yes! He's called John Glenn Tracy!" came a voice from behind. They turned and grinned at one another. Scott was approaching from the direction of the house.

"Hey Scott."

"Hey you two. FAB1 is about to arrive, and grandma wants you both back inside to wash up for dinner. Don't worry, she's not cooked. It's a massive salad."

They got up and followed their eldest brother back into the house, where they were ushered upstairs by their grandmother.

"Come on now, clean and tidy please. Back down in fifteen minutes. That means you too, Scott!"

Half way up the stairs they passed Gordon on his way down, freshly showered and shaved, and wearing a brand-new canary yellow Hawaiian shirt and shorts. Gordon high-fived Alan on his way passed and started whistling merrily as he entered the lounge.

He found Virgil in the corner, playing the piano quietly, stopping every few seconds to make hurried notes. Gordon smiled and withdrew without disturbing him. He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen, where he was instantly shooed out again.

"No no no, not yet. Out. And stay clean!"

"Grandma, I'm not ten years old anymore!" Gordon protested, half annoyed and half amused. His grandma gave him a firm look.

"You make me wonder sometimes with your antics. If you are at a loose end, you could set the table for me? That would be a massive help?"

Gordon grinned and kissed her soft cheek.

"Anything for you granny!" he said cheekily and ducked away from her wooden spoon. He darted off to lay the table, chuckling at her mutterings of `granny indeed!'

oOoOo

Kayo luxuriated in the plush interior of FAB1 and glanced uneasily down at the figure-hugging dress she was wearing. It was a slender cut with a sweetheart neckline; and contoured her slim figure perfectly, flaring out at the hips, ending just above her knee. The flat flesh coloured sandals she wore felt a great deal more suitable than the expensive high heeled shoes Penny had tried to persuade her to wear for her return home. The flats had been agreed upon as a compromise. Kayo had wanted to wear her more familiar boots, but neither Penny nor Parker would hear of it.

"I don't think they've ever seen me in a dress, Penny. Not since I was a kid, anyway."

Penny smiled.

"Sometimes a pretty dress can prove just as deadly to an opponent as any martial art moves, Kayo. It certainly does not hurt to include it in your armory."

Kayo nodded. In the past few weeks she had spent with Penelope, she had witnessed the phenomenon first hand. Penny's way of dealing with criminals was not hers, but no less effective. It just felt… _alien_ now she was returning home. Why was that? Penny had dressed her in all manner of finery, and it had felt perfectly normal. She would have felt very out of place in Penny's world if she had insisted in wearing her own regular combat pants and tee-shirt. On the other hand, her regular attire was natural back on Tracy Island.

Was it because she was a tomboy at heart? Or was it because with the exception of grandma, she was surrounded by men and felt the need to meet them at their own level somehow? What would Scott say to that idea? Would he appreciate this new look?

"Comin' in to land Milady!" came Parker's voice from the front seat. Penny and Kayo buckled themselves in and watched the island drawing closer.

oOoOo

"Kayo!"

"Penny!"

Two voices rang through the hangar as soon as they landed, and the two women had no sooner emerged from the pink limousine than they were swept into the arms of two Tracy brothers. Scott hugged Kayo closely, then stood back, holding her at arms' length. He gave her an appreciative glance and whistled.

"Wow, lady. You look good enough to eat!"

Kayo grinned at him.

"You look a lot less stressed than you were. It's good to see you smiling."

He laughed and hugged her again.

"Hello Kayo."

"Hello Scott."

"I hope you're hungry, grandma's done lunch…a cold collation."

"Come on then, lover-boy."

They skipped away together back up to the house, leaving Parker to deal with the luggage.

Gordon too had been overjoyed to see Lady Penelope again. He raced over to her, and to her shock, he whipped her off her feet into his arms and swirled her round in his excitement.

"Penny, Penny, Penny! It's good to be with you again!"

She clutched him around the neck until he had stopped spinning her around and kissed his forehead.

"Hello my love. I take it that you have missed me?"

"Every single second of every single day and night I pined for you, I yearned for you I…"

She gently put her finger over his lips and smiled at him.

"Good. I take that as a `yes!' then. I would consider it terribly bad manners if you had been enjoying yourself so much that I had not even entered your mind, whilst _I_ was thinking of _you_ every day while you were gone!"

They kissed tenderly, and when they parted, found Parker shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Sorry Milady, but Mrs. Tracy says to tell you that if you don't 'urry up, there won't be no pickles left, nor any bread rolls neither!"

Penelope smiled at him.

"Sorry Parker, you're quite right."

"Want a hand with the bags, Parker?" Gordon asked, eyeing the two large bags the man had unloaded from the back of the car. Parker shook his head.

"I wouldn't dream of it Mister Gordon. I c'n manage fine sir."

He followed the young lovers as they made their way up to the dining room, hand in hand.

oOoOo

Once again, the island was full of noise and bustle and laughter. After so many weeks of being alone, suddenly everyone was home again, filling the house with love and confusion.

Whereas the place had been clean and tidy, without even a single cushion out of place, suddenly there were shoes, sweaters, sunglasses, coffee cups and people everywhere he looked. Had it always been this untidy?

Jeff was loving it. Even the untidiness he was loving. Sally was loving it too for the moment, although Jeff knew that _that_ would not last long. Soon she would be grabbing Gordon and Alan, (the worst offenders) and standing over them whilst they cleared away their belongings.

They had had their long-awaited staff; or was it family? meeting to decide for certain what they were going to do about International Rescue, in both the long and the short-term, and he had been surprised at all the excellent ideas and suggestions that had come spilling out from everyone.

Brains and Virgil had hidden themselves away to prepare the plans for the New Thunderbird Five, having taken on board John's invaluable input; and whilst they were busily working down in Brains' Labs, the rest of them had started working on the first phase.

Back in the beginning, before Thunderbird Five had been fully operational, they had launched a small number of miniature powerful satellites into orbit that relayed calls from around the globe down to Tracy Island. It was a relatively simple task to rebuild more from Brains' original plans.

John and Eos worked to install and synchronize the computer and communications systems, until they were ready for deployment. Eos was once again going to board her own small space-going vessel; in truth an adapted satellite probe that had been greatly enhanced for her use. It had been created for her a few weeks earlier; when she had been instrumental in finding and thereby saving the lives of John and Alan. It had since been nicknamed _Thunderbird Rover_. From _Rover_ , Eos was able to travel at phenomenal speeds in any direction she chose, tap into any satellite in orbit, and from there into any database or communication system around the globe. She would still have full access to Tracy Island, and be able to swiftly download herself back to the island if the need should arise. Until the new space station was built and running, Eos would find herself extremely busy.

Just two weeks after their return home, Eos was ready for lift-off, and Brains and Virgil were ready with their new plans, and a small-scale model to show everyone the new Thunderbird Five designs.

Lady Penelope and Parker returned to the island for the unveiling, and all were seated around the large dining table. Captain Tailor had also returned to the island, having pledged his assistance to International Rescue in the rebuilding of their destroyed equipment. He sat beside Jeff, drumming his fingers impatiently on the table. Brains ignored the noise.

"Th th there are a few differences in construction and appearance with this d d design." He said. "We we we were concerned primarily at first with finding ways to safeguard John's life in the event of another missile attack, and we have come up with a radical way of…well, take a look at what we have come up with. V V Virgil?"

Virgil opened the box that he had placed on the table in front of him and took out a cardboard model.

Everyone stared. And stared.

It looked like the original Thunderbird Five in basic conception, but it was no more than one fifth of a space station. As though the station had been sliced up the way one might slice up an orange into segments. But the centre piece appeared to be missing, as though someone had used a corer to remove the entire center part of the orange before slicing it. Alan's eyebrows met in a point.

"Um…it looks incomplete…"

Virgil nodded.

"This is a radical new design that will blow you away…I hope!" he said.

Brains removed four other pieces from the box identical to the one in Virgil's hand, and then finally a vaguely cylindrical shaped section that fitted into the center of the five segments perfectly.

"The central hub will be the heart of the structure." He continued, "…carrying the mainframe, the database, the power core…you know the type of thing. It will be completely separate from the rest of the station; and will operate largely by computer control…or _Eos_ control, if you like. There will be no gravity; although John will be able to activate the artificial gravity if he wishes. The main control room, where John does most of his work will be situated in the uppermost section of the central hub."

Virgil demonstrated how the six parts of the structure fit together, and how the outer sections were designed exactly as before, five parts of a gravity ring that would house John's living quarters and store rooms.

"You will notice that outside of the central hub is a stationary central ring that will be utilized for personal use. John will need a gymnasium of sorts, a place where he can play sports to keep himself fit which, as you know, is vitally important in space; those are things that we will discuss with John later. The outer ring is of course the gravity ring which will house the living quarters, the store-rooms and the medical bay."

Everyone seemed fascinated by the design, similar in appearance, but different enough to make them full of curiosity. Finally, Scott could bear it no longer.

"So why have you designed it in separate segments? Or is that just this small model?"

Virgil smiled, and Brains shook his head.

"No Scott, the real thing will be built in exactly the same way. We wanted to find a way to provide an extra layer of protection for John in the event of another missile attack, and if possible, safeguard the station itself as well. Well, computer programs, shields and warning systems aside, this Thunderbird Five will split itself apart. The five outer sections will separate at high velocity and will each perform a single full orbit of the earth before coming together again. John will also be able to control the entire process, from initiating it, to separately controlling the flight pattern of each segment if he wishes. In the event of an emergency separation, when the segments separate and begin their circuit of the earth, the central hub will act as an escape pod, activate engines and begin an immediate controlled return to the vicinity of Tracy Island."

"The hub will land in the sea and will be easily retrieved by Thunderbird Four." Virgil informed them. "If there was a missile attack like the last one, by the time it arrived, the station would be gone. The missile would keep flying on until it found an alternative target."

"So, what of innocent vessels that could be destroyed instead? Is there some way we could destroy a missile in that scenario?"

Brains cocked his head.

"I'm working on that. There are several possibilities, although most of them involve carrying offensive weapons, which John insists he is not happy about. One alternative would be for the hub to be programmed in the event of an emergency escape, to drop an active mine in situ which would make the missile explode. The problem with that idea, is that if the missile were a large one, the escaping hub could possibly catch the edge of the blast."

"Once the hub had been rescued from the water, I suppose it will be possible to repair any damage and then take it back into orbit to reunite with the rest of the station?" Jeff asked, thoughtfully.

Brains nodded.

"It will probably be necessary to design it in two or more sealable sections for easier transport. Thunderbird Three is very large, but there is a limit to how much even she can carry in one trip. I haven't finished working on the full dimensions yet, but it will be easily repairable, certainly."

"How long will it take to build?" Penny asked innocently. Virgil blew out his cheeks and Brains removed his glasses, polished them with the hem of his jacket and put them back on. John turned to her.

"At least…ten months, maybe as much as eighteen months. With just a few of us working in shifts, it will be a long job, but worth it in the end."

"And in the meantime, you're grounded."

John eyed her and forced a smile.

"Thank you for reminding me, Lady Penelope!"

She gave him a charming smile.

"I was just thinking, that you will be free to attend my garden party this Saturday? All of you who can are under orders to come and have fun…unless you are planning on reactivating International Rescue before then?" Her eyes ranged from John to Jeff and then rested on Scott. Scott glanced at his father and then shook his head.

"No, not for another week, we thought. We need time to launch Eos in _Rover_ , deploy our relay satellites and then commence testing to make sure our communications are up to scratch. We also need to build a communications room on Satellite Hill for John to use whilst he is Earthbound. It should be able to function pretty much the same as the control center on Thunderbird Five, except with gravity!"

Penny nodded.

"Great, then you will all come to my party this Saturday afternoon?"

oOoOo

It was a long time since Jeff and his five sons had attended any sort of function together. Grandma and Kayo had politely turned down Lady Penelope's kind invitation, deciding that it might be an ideal opportunity for the boys and their father to spend quality time together before all the hard work started again in earnest. So, Jeff, Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon and Alan, all looking smart but relaxed, arrived at Creighton-Ward Manor and were received as the guests of honour.

Penelope was an expert hostess, and she put them immediately at their ease. Very soon, they were all separate, chatting away to a surprisingly eclectic mix of guests that showed interest in their work without demanding private details or titbits. To their relief, no one expected them to be the center of attention either, and they blended well into the background chatter, as they sipped the best champagne and enjoyed the beautifully cultured gardens around them.

Gordon gave Penny a quick peck on the cheek.

"You look ravishing!"

She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Gordon."

"This party is for charity, isn't it?"

She nodded reluctantly. Gordon sighed.

"Penny how come you didn't say so before?"

"Because I did not invite you to secure any kind of donation for the charity. I invited you because I wanted you to have fun, and I thought you might enjoy it."

"But we will give to your charity. You know that, right?"

"Gordon, this garden party is for charity inasmuch as charity workers are invited to it, rather than the lords, ladies and politicians whom might normally expect to be invited. There are several charities represented here, and none of them are here seeking to raise money. They are all here simply to enjoy themselves."

Gordon smiled at her.

"You are a very special person, you know that? Come on then, introduce me to some of these amazing people."

They strolled together across the lawn, greeting different groups of people talking animatedly.

"That group over there…they work for a charity that takes homeless people off the streets, cleans them up and finds them a room to live in and paid work to do…cutting grass, sweeping the streets…it gives the people they help a measure of self-respect and sets them on the road back to a more normal existence….let's see…"

She paused, as Gordon gripped her arm. He was almost frowning, peering into the distance.

"Pen, look…that girl over there…who _is_ that? The one with the green top and the black slacks?"

Penelope followed his gaze; and saw a slender young woman with olive skin and thick, wavy black hair. She was carrying a tray of canapés; and was mingling easily with the guests as she wove among them. Penelope grinned.

"Ah, that is Miss Bonnie Cain. She is currently working with one of the homeless charities in London. A lovely young lady, Gordon. She came to my attention just a few weeks ago, when she approached me to ask me if I would be willing to speak at a charity event. I was unable to help at the time, as I was engaged in IR business, but I was impressed by her manner, and kept in touch with her."

Gordon stared at the girl, shaking his head slowly.

"Bonnie?" he said softly to himself. "Bonnie Cain? That's Connie Hayes, in every detail. Surely…"

Penelope looked concerned.

"Gordon, what is it?"

"Pen, your friend Bonnie over there…she is the absolute spitting image of Connie Hayes. Every single detail about her is Connie, but it couldn't be…could it?"

Penelope looked stunned.

"Connie? You mean Virgil's fiancée that was killed last year in a hit and run accident? I never met her personally. But how could this be her? Connie died instantly. Didn't she?"

Gordon nodded.

"Virgil had to go and identify her body. Scott went with him. I'll never forget the look on their faces when they got back."

"Where is Virgil? How will he feel to see someone so much like his dead fiancée, alive and walking around?"

"I don't know, Penny."

Gordon was scanning the crowd almost urgently, then his eyes widened.

"Oh no, Pen…there he is. He's seen her…"

Virgil broke away from the group of people he had been talking to; and looked round for a member of his family. His eyes rested on a young woman, wending her way through the crowd, offering a tray of canapés to her fellow guests. He froze.

Connie. Here. Alive.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gordon running towards him, and somewhere in the back of his mind he was vaguely aware of Scott hurrying toward him from the other side, but he ignored them.

Connie, alive? But that was impossible. Connie was dead. He had seen her body, the horrific injuries that had torn her life away from her at such a young age. Torn away her life and ripped out his own heart at the same time. This had to be a mirage. He was dreaming, wasn't he?

He pinched himself hard, and winced slightly, but the vision was still there. Then she saw him and stopped. He saw her eyes widen, and he saw her lips form the outline of his name…then everything went black.


	4. A Shattered Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil has only recently learned to smile again after losing the love of his life in a hit-and-run accident. Suddenly, despite knowing that his fiancée was killed a year ago, here she is standing right in front of him.
> 
> Is this his beloved Constance, returned to heal his shattered heart?

The stir that went through the guests when the young and handsome Virgil Tracy passed out was enough to draw the attention of the five other Tracys, most of who had been angling towards the punch bowl in the pavilion. They turned and found someone tugging at them. It was one of her ladyship's household maids.

"Mister Tracy, your son sir…" she said, glancing back over her shoulder and pointing. Jeff dropped his glass and ran back towards the house, where she could see a considerable crowd beginning to form. His sons followed in his wake. The crowd parted for them, and Jeff found Virgil lying on the grass, his head now cradled in Gordon's lap, Penelope kneeling close by, tapping his cheek softly. Parker pushed his way through the throngs with a glass of water in his hand and waved everyone off.

"Please, there's nothin' to see 'ere. The band are setting up in the bandstand in the meadow."

The crowd got the message and started to drift away in search of other entertainment, and Jeff and his sons knelt on the grass. Virgil opened his eyes and groaned.

"What happened? Penny? Gordo…dad? What…what am I doing on the…"

They saw his eyes widen as memory hit him, and they saw his face blench.

"Connie! I saw her! Where is she?"

Scott frowned, unable to resist the temptation to glance round.

"Connie? Virge, Connie's…you know…dead. You remember, we went together to view her body…the DNA results, dental records and everything. Even though she looked like Con, you refused to believe it was her until we had the full works. There's no doubt, Virgil. Whoever you saw, can't possibly be Connie Hayes."

Virgil nodded. He would never, ever forget that horrible day or that hateful trip. He had hoped desperately for some miracle to prove that it had been some other girl who had been killed and not his Constance, but even without the evidence of his own eyes, the other proof of identity had been overwhelming. He rubbed his eyes again, groaning once again as he looked round and realized where he was. He looked at his father, crouched beside him with concern on his face.

"Dad…I didn't…did I? I didn't… _faint_?"

His father nodded soberly.

"Afraid so, son. You must have had quite a shock. Are you ready to get up now?"

Virgil put his hands over his face.

"Can't I just lie here and die in my shame?"

"Come on, son. Let's get you on your feet. Lady Penelope can tell the guests that you've a touch of heatstroke. That'll be enough to quell the questions."

That made Virgil roll his eyes and struggle to his feet.

"Dad, are you serious? I'd sooner she told the truth. I mean, who in their right mind is going to believe that a man who lives all year round on a tropical island is going to collapse from heatstroke in _England_ of all places?"

Lady Penelope smiled at him.

"Parker is already taking care of it. Come into the house. You can rest in the drawing room until you feel fully recovered. Iced tea?"

Virgil nodded, and followed her into the house. His family followed closely behind.

"Pen, what is Parker telling the other guests about Virgil?" Gordon enquired. She smiled.

"Well, to be honest, I have no idea. Knowing Parker, he'll have some plan up his sleeve. Best not to ask. Here we are."

Virgil sat on one end of the sofa, trying to get his head together. He knew Connie Hayes was dead, but he knew for a fact he had seen her outside. Just moments before the world had turned black on him. He couldn't have been dreaming it, could he? She had said his name. He had not heard her, but he had read her lips, and he could have sworn she had said the name _Virgil Tracy_ under her breath. He knew he had to see her again. He had to. He looked round at his family, still clustering around him as though he was dying.

"Guys, I really am ok. I tell you, I saw Connie…or someone that must have been her identical twin anyway, as clearly as I see you, and she said my name. Who is she if not Connie? And if it is, who was it I buried last year?"

"Virgil, whoever you saw, can't have been Connie. Just can't have." Scott assured him. Gordon touched Scott's shoulder.

"Scott, Virgil isn't going mad, honest. _I_ saw her too."

Virgil's head snapped up.

"You did? It _is_ her, right?"

Gordon frowned.

"Well, I swear she looks like Connie in every detail…I asked Penny about her. Penny told me that the girl you saw works for one of the London homeless charities. Penny ran into her a few weeks ago and was impressed by her. She said her name is Bonnie Cain."

"Connie Hayes…Bonnie Cain…two people that look the same, two names that rhyme…two totally different, completely unconnected people?" Jeff mused thoughtfully. "Sounds a little too coincidental to me."

"I have to see her again. I have to…"

He made to stand up, and five pairs of hands pushed him down again. He struggled against them, his anger and frustration growing. John sat beside him.

"Virgil, you're not thinking straight right now. Wait until you have recovered, and your mind is clearer. Let one of us chat to her, find out a little more about her. We don't have to tell her anything, just find out what she says about herself, and if she knows you, find out how. If she _is_ Connie…"

Virgil slumped back.

"Could always do a DNA test…I have a lock of Connie's hair at home."

"You do? How romantic is that?" Gordon smiled. Virgil shrugged. "It's all I have left of her now, except for memories. Go and find out who that woman is."

Gordon nodded, and patted his brother's shoulder, before heading out of the room to find Penelope. Jeff went with him They met Penny coming towards them carrying a tray containing a large jug of iced tea and some glasses. Jeff grinned at her.

"Thanks Penny. Let me take that for you."

She gladly relinquished the tray, and Gordon touched her arm.

"That girl…definitely Bonnie Cain?"

"Yes. Perhaps I ought to introduce you to her officially?"

"Please do Penny. We need to find out if she has any connection to Virgil's Connie, or whether her amazing resemblance is a coincidence…and since Virgil thinks he saw her say his name, I need to find out discreetly why she knows him."

Penny nodded and took his proffered arm.

"Lead on MacDuff!"

"Miss Cain?"

The young woman straightened up and smiled at her hostess.

"Lady Penelope! Is that gentleman alright? It is a Mister Virgil Tracy, isn't it?"

Lady Penelope glanced briefly at Gordon beside her, and then nodded.

"Yes, it is. This is his younger brother, Gordon Tracy. Gordon, this is Miss Bonnie Cain. I'll leave you to get acquainted while I see to the comfort of my other guests."

Miss Cain smiled in a way that was spookily like Connie's shy smile.

"It's good to meet you Mister Tracy. I couldn't believe it when I saw Mister Virgil Tracy collapse. He will be alright, won't he? It would be a cruel blow to the art world if anything should happen to him."

Gordon blinked for a moment.

"The _art_ world? My brother _is_ an artist, but I was not aware his fame had spread any further than family."

Miss Cain nodded, enthusiasm making her eyes light up.

"Oh yes! He may not be famous, but he is becoming pretty well known among art-lovers. I've seen several small exhibitions of his work in galleries in France, Italy, New York and here in England. The last time I saw a Virgil Tracy collection, they had a photograph and a mini biography of the artist himself. There are many collectors wondering why he refuses to sell any of his work. He could make a mint."

Gordon's eyebrows raised.

"Well, I'll be sure to tell him he has an admirer present."

"Thanks. Uh, what happened? Is he sick or something?"

Gordon shook his head.

"Something. All I can tell you is that he is fine. He might come out again presently. If so, you'll be able to ask him. So, tell me a little about yourself, Bonnie. All I know is that you're a fan of my brother's paintings. Penny said you work for a homeless charity."

"Yes. Everyone deserves a chance of living a decent life, don't they? So many people ending up on the streets through simple back luck and circumstance. I've often thought that it could be me, and if it was, I would be glad of someone to reach out and help me."

"Sounds like a really worthy cause. So are you from London?"

She shook her head.

"I was raised on the Orkney Islands."

"Come again?"

She grinned at his ignorance.

"Orkney. Off the coast of Scotland."

Gordon raised one eyebrow.

"You don't sound very Scottish."

She smirked and replied in a very broad accent.

"Ane language is nivver eneuch. Ye dinna unnerstaun!"

Gordon stared at her, with no idea what it was she had said. She saw his face and laughed.

"I said; `One language is never enough. You don't understand!'"

"I'll have to take your word for it." He said. He looked down at the floor. The tray she had been carrying was lying on the floor, as was the remainder of the canapés she had been offering round. "An accident?"

She nodded.

"My fault completely." She said. "I was startled when Mister…er your brother fainted like that, and I dropped the tray."

"Startled because a stranger fainted?" Gordon's eyebrows raised with a trace of suspicion. She nodded, looking troubled.

"I saw him and recognized him from the photo I saw at the gallery a month ago. I think I said his name. He saw me, and his face went white, and he passed out. It was like he was seeing a ghost or something. I must say it spooked me a little."

"Unless you two have met before, maybe he thought you were someone else. "

She nodded.

"Maybe he did. We've certainly never met before. Well, I'd better clear up this mess and collect some more from the kitchen. Nice talking to you Mister Tracy."

Gordon watched her collect her tray and return to the kitchen. When she was out of earshot, Lady Penelope came up to him.

"What do you think?" she asked him. Gordon bit his lip thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure. She is not claiming to be anyone other than Bonnie Cain. She claims to be from the Orknies."

"Strange she doesn't sound Scottish."

"Well, she can deliver a pretty convincing Scottish accent, with the dialect when she wants to. She said she had recognized Virge from his photo at his art exhibitions."

"Plausible enough."

"Hmm."

Penny looked at him.

"You're not happy, are you?"

He shook his head.

"Something's…off, that's all. Virgil will want to meet her, if only to see Connie's face again. He's bound to fall off his trolley when he talks to her, Penny, and something is wrong. I wish I knew what."

"You want me to keep an eye on her?"

He turned grateful eyes on her.

"Would you? Especially if Virgil decides he wants to…you know."

Penny nodded.

"We'll watch her for you. We can check her out for you too if you like…"

"Discreetly of course…"

Penny smiled.

"Discreet is my middle name, Gordon. You know that."

He nodded and kissed her on the nose.

"I do know that. When we get home, I'll get John to do some on line investigation…if only for my peace of mind."

Penny linked her arm through his.

"Come along then. Your brothers are waiting to hear what you have to say about our friend Bonnie."

When Gordon got back inside, he found his immediately older brother sitting up with his head in his hands. His ears were pink. Dad, Kayo, Scott, Alan and John were trying to encourage him. Virgil was shaking his head.

"I can't go back out there! I _fainted_ , guys, like a woman with the vapours! I'll never be able to look anyone in the face ever again!"

Gordon smirked.

"You certainly won't if you sit there forever, brother."

Virgil's head snapped up.

"Did you talk to her? What did she say? What did you find out?"

Gordon cocked his head.

"She recognizes you as a talented artist that she admires. She says she has seen your work on display here in London and also in France. She said that the gallery in Paris carried a picture of you with a short biography, and that is how she knew who you were. She is called Bonnie Cain, and says she was born and raised on Orkney."

"Scotland?"

Gordon nodded.

"Anything else?"

"No. I didn't say anything about Connie, if that's what you are wondering. I must say though, that close up she still looks remarkably similar to your Connie."

"How similar Gordon?"

Gordon glanced at his father and other brothers and forced himself to say it.

"Actually…exactly identical…even down to the tiny mole just under her left earlobe…"

Scott frowned.

"But that's impossible! No two unrelated people can be _that_ identical!"

Virgil looked at him.

"Well then this _has_ to be Connie! Somehow, we were fooled about Connie's death! She faked her death, or someone did, and this is her coming back to me."

"But Virge, we were there when they performed all those blood and DNA tests, and you double checked it all yourself to make sure no one was fooling you. Connie died, and was cremated a year ago. You know it! There _has_ to be another explanation for Bonnie's existence. Perhaps the Hood in disguise? He's done _that_ before!"

Virgil looked at Scott as though he had two heads.

"So, you think the Hood is disguising himself as my dead fiancée? For what purpose Scott? What would he be after? My body? My kisses?"

Scott rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Virge…what is he always after? International Rescue. A way onto the island through Brains' new shields."

Virgil shook his head. Gordon sat beside him.

"She did specifically tell me that she has never met you before. She could have been lying bro, but I don't think so. She is spookily similar to Connie, but…I don't know. What about family? Did Connie have…I don't know, an identical twin somewhere?"

Virgil stared at him.

"Connie was adopted when she was three months old. She said that her natural parents were killed in an accident, and she was adopted by the Hayes family."

"Where did she come from originally, Virgil?" Penny asked him. Virgil looked at her.

"She said she was born in Ireland and adopted by a local family who emigrated to California when she was two years old."

"Well, twin babies would normally be adopted together. But I guess if they had a problem finding them a home together, they may have been split up…and adopted by different families? That would explain their similarities."

"I have to meet her myself. Talk to her in person."

Jeff placed a restraining hand on his son's arm.

"Virgil, believe me, I know how it feels to lose your soul mate, _I know_ how it feels. When I lost your mother, I know I would have taken off after the flimsiest of threads just to keep hope alive if I could. Just be careful you don't lose yourself here. Whoever this young woman is, she deserves to be seen as herself, not as a ghost of your lost love. Do you understand me?"

Virgil nodded impatiently and got to his feet.

"I know dad, and thanks for your concern, but I have to be sure…just… _sure_."

His family watched his hurry out of the room, their faces showing their concern.

Outside, Bonnie had collected another tray of eatables and was once again circling the guests. She felt very out of place in a setting like this; and seeing as Lady Penelope had invited her as a single woman, but she had no escort or particular friends amongst this crowd, she preferred to keep herself busy. The alternative after all would have been to stand ineffectively on the edge of a crowd and laugh politely at only half-heard jokes. Either that or find a convenient corner to sit and make believe she was quite happy being alone.

Lady Penelope had been very kind of course, but Bonnie was really not a _party_ type of person. She much preferred a small gathering of her own close friends or family around the kitchen table eating fish and chips, or watching the football on TV. Better still, a walk along a beach or through the countryside somewhere, breathing in the air. Each of these activities it mattered not whether she was with friends or alone. She was comfortable and relaxed, away from this rather _alien_ lifestyle.

When her ladyship had offered her friendship however, Bonnie had snatched at it gratefully. She had not made any close friends in London yet. She had been working long hours helping those she met through the charities, but she did not like to mix her work life with her homelife.

Perhaps she would yet get accustomed to all of this? This was a far cry from the much slower and more relaxed lifestyle back home.

She emptied her tray once again, and was on her way back to collect a tray of filled champagne flutes by way of a change, when she heard a distinct throat clearing behind her. She turned and almost dropped her empty tray. It was the gorgeous hunk who had passed out earlier. Virgil Tracy.

For a moment, her mouth opened and no sound came out. He smiled at her and she found her voice.

"Hello. It's you. You're the artist, Virgil Tracy. You fainted. Are you alright? Do you need some water? A bench to sit down?"

He shook his head.

"No thank you. I'm quite well."

"Good."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then her nerves took over and she started to babble.

"Sorry, but it's just that I have never seen a man faint before, and I wondered if you were ill or suffering from sunstroke or something because it…"

She realized what she was doing when he raised his eyebrows slightly, and she stopped, embarrassed.

"Sorry. You _are_ alright though…aren't you? You did turn horribly pale."

She noticed he pinked slightly.

"Yes, I had a shock that's all."

She frowned at that.

"But you were looking at me when you turned pale and went down. Am I really that shocking to look at? This may not be from Harrods, but it is my best frock…"

"No, you are…" he paused, and she wondered what he had been about to say. What he said next took her breath away. Literally.

"You shocked me because you…you look like my late fiancée Constance…in every single detail. Even down to the tiny mole next to your ear. And…pardon me being so rude, but do you by any chance have a tiny cherry birthmark at the top of your right thigh?"

Bonnie's mouth fell open, and it was several seconds before she remembered to close it again.

"You…I…is this the way you chat up every girl you meet?"

Virgil shook his head sadly.

"Sorry, but I had to meet you. I would have wanted to anyway, but you see Connie and I were going to be married, and she was killed a year ago. Here, this is proof that I am not deliberately trying to embarrass you, miss."

He fished into his wallet and pulled out a small electronic photobook. He scrolled through the pages and then handed her the device. She took it and stared in amazement at the photo of the young woman in the picture. It looked exactly like herself, except that the girl in the picture had her hair very much shorter and cut in a pageboy style. Very nineteen sixties in design, but it suited her better than she would have ever guessed. She was wearing a blue floral swimsuit and plain blue sarong wrapped around her waist. She was grinning from under a big straw hat and had one hand raised to the camera mid-wave.

Bonnie looked up.

"This is your fiancée?"

"Connie."

"It's incredible! That's the face I see in the mirror every morning, except…it isn't me." She handed the photobook back to him.

"No wonder you were shocked. Anyone would be."

Virgil looked down at his feet.

"Sorry…it's Bonnie isn't it? I thought you deserved to know…but let's talk about you instead."

Bonnie let out a half-smile.

"But you're not seeing me, are you? You're seeing your ladyfriend that you've lost. I'm no one special. It won't take you five minutes to learn everything there is to know about me."

"Well, tell me slowly then. I can tell you a little about myself."

Bonnie was uncertain that it was a good idea.

"I would love to get to know you better Mister Tracy, but…"

"Call me Virgil."

She sighed and nodded.

"Thank you, Virgil. That picture proves that you are not seeing me but a ghost of Connie. I'm not Connie, so you are bound to be disappointed. It would not be fair on you. And it would definitely not be fair to me, knowing the comparisons that are bound to be going on inside your mind all the time."

Virgil's face fell, and her heart went out to him.

"Alright then. This place is like somewhere in a fairytale, so we can make believe for a few minutes. Ask me a question, then I'll ask you one. Deal?"

He grinned at her and nodded.

"Okay, so what is your favourite colour?"

"Yellow."

Virgil's eyebrows raised in surprise. Connie's had been mauve. She noticed his surprise but ignored it.

"My turn. What do you do when you are not painting?"

"Playing the piano. My turn. What is your worst fault?"

"Giggling at inappropriate times. What do you do for a living?"

"I work for my father. Are you free Wednesday evening?"

"No. What do you do for your father? Mow the lawn?"

"I…um…I fly. Not wednesday? Thursday then? Friday?"

She sighed. She would love to have a date with this great looking hunk, but the thought that he would be looking at her and seeing visions of his dead girlfriend repelled her. She gave him a very sweet smile.

"I don't know why I look so much like your friend, Virgil. But it seems to me that you are still missing her very badly. Spending time with me is not going to help you get over losing her. However much you try, you will not be dating me but a shadow of her. I deserve more than that. I'm so sorry."

She paused, about to walk away from him, then turned back to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"You're not an easy man to say no to, Virgil Tracy. I love the way you see the world. It comes out in your paintings. I'd better go before I change my mind."

He nodded sadly.

"Well if you ever do change your mind, Penny…speak to Lady Penelope."

Bonnie nodded and turned away from him and started walking, tray in hand, towards the tented pavilion. Whoever Connie was, Bonnie envied her a man like Virgil. He was still clearly smitten, even though she had been gone for…how long did he say? A year?

She could not help wondering how long it would take him to be truly ready to date again?

Virgil watched her walking away, his heart in a million pieces. She was convinced, certain, _sure_ that she was _not_ his Connie in any way, shape or form. And yet, despite her favourite colour being different from Con's, her attitudes and beliefs matched Connie's in every particular. Her love for other people, her compassion, and also her own self-respect.

How could he go home now, knowing that she was here, on this continent?


	5. Plain Speaking

Thunderbird Rover, at last fully equipped, was ready for take-off. Eos had downloaded herself into its surprisingly complex software, and found her control of the explorative, communications probe was impressive. The countdown began.

"Five…Four…Three…Two…One…"

The probe was launched, watched by all the residents of Tracy Island. They smiled at the sound of Eos' triumphant voice broadcast over the comms;

"Thunderbird Rover is GO! Wow, I always wanted to say that!"

With her secret orbit set and established, and yet with the freedom to move and travel elsewhere in orbit if the situation warranted it, Eos was set. She had full holographic communications with Tracy Island so to her it almost felt as though she was still down there with them. And yet now they really needed her. They needed her and trusted her. She completed her first full orbit, and then reported as per her instructions. John should by now be sitting in his newly built communications centre on the top of Telegraph Hill that represented as closely as possible the communications centre inside Thunderbird Five's main control room.

John even had his own access chute that led up from the main hangar bay that saved him the bother of an hour's climbing every day just to get to his office, and then an hour back again. With his new chute, he was propelled like a bullet from a gun on a bed of compressed air in a straight tunnel carefully hewn from the rock straight up to the communications center, where he would arrive in a specially designed POD that simulated weightlessness. It cushioned his arrival and held him floating on a bed of warm air until a verbal command gently lowered him to the floor.

It was the closest John could come to being weightless on Earth.

Ever since their return from Lady Penelope's party six weeks ago, Virgil had buried himself in work on Tracy Island. Working with Brains and his father and brothers on the various components of the new satellite they were building; working largely with the help of his father and Gordon with the actual tunneling of the new access route for John, and the building of the new complex atop the hill, designing it in such a way that it blended in with the hilltop and did not stand out. The equipment installation had been handled largely by John and Alan whilst Brains continued with his work on the new Thunderbird Five.

Needless to say, everyone had been very busy. Virgil got up every morning, greeted his family, started working on the current day's schedule jobs, and emerge to eat, drink and sleep only when he was dragged up by his worried family.

He could not say that he was unhappy or depressed. The overwhelming good mood that he had returned home from holiday with had certainly been altered by his encounter with Bonnie Cain at the party. Not soured exactly, but he had found himself unable to get her face out of his mind.

Was it the face of Bonnie he was seeing? Or was it Connie? Were they one and the same person after all? The knowledge that Connie was dead ripped his heart from his body every time he thought about her, and yet there was a huge knot that stood right in the middle of his gut. He could not swallow it or remove it. It stayed put however much talking his did with Scott or dad, however much work he did to try and tire himself out every day. He had to know more. He had to know for sure who Bonnie was, and why she looked so much like his wonderful Constance.

Grandma stood and watched as he played the piano after the launch of Thunderbird Rover. The melancholy tune reflected the expression in his eyes as she listened, and her heart went out to him. She sat beside him on the piano stool and leaned her head on his shoulder. He finished his tune and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Hi grandma. Are you alright?"

"I…I'm fine son. What about you?"

Virgil closed the lid and half turned to face her.

"You don't sound too sure grandma. Is there anything I can do?"

She gave him a wan smile.

"Well I…I don't know if you will really want to help me with my problem. Don't worry."

He hugged her closely.

" _Of course_ I want to help you grandma! Whatever you need…top of the list if a listening ear."

She sighed deeply.

"Well, the thing is, my problem is…well, I am worried about someone. I know they have…something on their mind, but I really don't think they will want to talk to me about their problem. I mean, what do I know?"

Virgil smiled at her.

"What you Grandma? The Wise Woman of the West? I thought you knew the answer to everything? Wait…uh-oh!"

Virgil's mind suddenly caught up as he realized whom she had in mind.

"You mean me, right?"

Grandma nodded.

"You're doing a good job of masking it kid, but not good enough to fool me. I don't think you've fooled your father or Scott either, but…"

"But you told them to lay off me for the time being, right?"

She shrugged.

"Your father and I both know what it is like to lose someone close to us. Your brothers understand grief, but they can't understand the loss of a spouse. That kind of closeness is very different to the closeness and love you have for a parent or a sibling. They can't possibly understand fully what you are going through."

Virgil gave a short, bitter laugh.

"How would you have felt, grandma, if a year after grandpa died, you walked into a friend's party and saw him calmly standing there in the crowd? Even though he insists that he is _not_ Grant Tracy, you notice that everything about him, even down to moles, birthmarks and even personality are so exactly like grandpa, how would you make yourself forget this person? You had just begun to accept that Grant Tracy was dead, but you know that there is someone walking around with that exact same face, hair and personality. Are you going to tell me that there is no way you would even consider the chance of getting grandpa back? Even with a different name?"

Sally allowed her mind to explore fully the scenario, and she knew how she would feel.

"I think I would feel like I had been given a second chance for happiness. But Virgil, you know what you are doing don't you? The mistake you are making here?"

He frowned in puzzlement.

"It's a mistake to look for a little happiness? To find a way to fulfil my dreams?"

Sally took his hands in her own, shaking her head sadly.

"No Virgil, we are all entitled to be happy, and that is my point. Whose happiness are you looking to satisfy? Whose dreams are they?"

Virgil saw her point. She could see that, but he stubbornly shook his head.

"But Connie didn't know anything about any of this when we first met. We fell in love, and she wanted to be with me. We wanted to be together come what may. I just need to get to know Bonnie and…"

"And make her fall in love with you? Virgil, are you seeking to give yourself to her? Or are you seeking to find yourself a replacement for Connie? Someone who can stick a plaster over that hole she left in your heart? Because even if Bonnie _did_ fall for you and everything happened as you imagine it could, she would _never ever_ be able to _replace_ Connie. She would be a sticking plaster, that is all. The hole in your soul would still be there, but Bonnie being around would be an even more constant reminder of what you lost. Worse than that, son, every time she reacted differently to the way Connie would, you would become resentful of her, for reminding you after all that she is not Connie. Only a lookalike. Virgil, believe me, I know you are hurting very badly, but if you pursue her, it will not end well. You will end up self-destructing."

Virgil pulled out of her grasp and turned his back on her. She could see his shoulders shaking, and her heart broke for him. She resisted the impulse to grab him, knowing he was trying to control himself in front of her. Finally, he turned around to her, his eyes damp.

"Grandma, I know you mean well, and I know you care, but I can't…I can't believe that anyone could be so much like Connie just by coincidence. It's just not possible. Every detail grandma. I knew Connie so well, and…she is just so… grandma, I know what you are saying, but I can't just leave it. I have to know more about her. I have to. If she is not Connie, then how does she come to be so like her? Is it really the Hood in disguise as one of the guys suggested?"

"If it is the Hood, then you are playing right into his hands."

She wiped another stray tear from her eye again and cocked her head.

"Virgil, once Eos has completed all her tests, and John and Alan have finished doing the same up on the hill, your father will be lifting the hiatus on International Rescue. Two days at the most. Let me suggest that we put Penny and Kayo on to investigating Bonnie Cain for you, finding out everything about her. Every detail, and then once you have her whole story, you will have more upon which to base a decision. In the meantime, get some rest so that you are ready when IR goes back on line."

Sally sought and held his gaze until he nodded half reluctantly. She stood beside him when he spoke to Kayo, and repressed a smile when Kayo gave him a hug and assured him that she and Lady Penelope would do everything in their power to clear up the mystery of Bonnie Cain. Before she left, Virgil gave her a sealed envelope sealed in a clear plastic bag.

"This might help, Kayo. Just promise me you'll bring it back to me."

"I will. What is it?"

"Connie's hair. Not cut-off either, but entire shafts of her hair, with the DNA intact."

"You pulled her hair out by the roots? What, did you have a fight or something?"

One side of Virgil's mouth reluctantly quirked.

"A play fight, yes. If you manage to get a sample from…"

Kayo wondered how one might go about that discreetly, but she said nothing. She nodded confidently.

"We'll do our best, Virge. Now promise you'll keep yourself fit and well and not pine away whilst your waiting for us? This type of investigation may well take a while."

Virgil nodded.

"For now…thanks Kayo."

Kayo glanced once at grandma and caught her infinitesimal nod, nodded back and clutching the envelope tightly in her left hand, she headed for her chute. Time to deploy Thunderbird Shadow.

Virgil watched as she disappeared into her chute, then rubbed his arms, feeling suddenly cold. Grandma pointed him in the direction of the stairs.

"Go on boy. You've been working yourself too hard lately, and you need some fresh air. You go out and enjoy the sun for a bit, let your brothers cheer you up. I'll get MAX to help me bake some batches of your favourite triple chocolate cookies."

"And MAX's special pizza for dinner?"

Sally laughed.

"Alright, you win. The pizza too. Go on."

Outside, Scott watched his younger brother approaching the pool. He looked happy enough, but Scott knew Virgil well, and he could tell when his little brother had something on his mind. This time of course, everyone knew exactly what, or whom was occupying his thoughts. He contemplated raising the subject, to try once again to make Virgil see reason, but a look in the others eye make him hesitate. Virgil looked just a little too… _fragile_ to cope right now. They both looked round as _Shadow_ launched and shot away into the distance. Scott frowned.

"I wonder where she's off to." He wondered aloud. Virgil sat down beside him.

"Didn't she say goodbye?"

Scott nodded.

"She called me on the comm from inside Shadow, just before she launched. But wouldn't tell me where she was going."

"Hmmm."

Virgil lay back and closed his eyes.

"Do you know where she's off to Virge?"

"Why should I know?"

"You were in the lounge…that's where her chute begins. I wondered if she had said anything."

Virgil opened his eyes and regarded his older brother.

"Scott, I'll tell you if you promise me no lectures and no smothering until I'm up to it?"

"I wouldn't…alright, I promise. What's going on?"

"She and Penny are going to thoroughly investigate the background of that girl we met at Penny's. It cannot possibly be a coincidence that she is like Connie in every single detail. They are looking into it. Find out exactly who she is and where she comes from."

Scott could see where his brother was going with this, and he dreaded it.

"Virge…" he began. Virgil closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I've already had the lecture from grandma, Scott. I don't want to hear it a second time, so don't waste your breath."

"Actually Virgil…" Scott said, sounding wounded. "I was going to say that I am going to make myself an iced coffee with a little dash of something extra. Would you like one?"

Virgil opened his eyes, his face full of contrition.

"I'm sorry…"

Scott sat on the end of Virgil's lounger and smiled at him.

"I can't imagine what you must be going through Virge, but we are all still here for you. Now that coffee…would that be a large or an extra-large?"


	6. A Disturbing Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John makes a disturbing discovery

Sitting alone in his new control room, John whizzed between computer banks and screens, tapping buttons at a furious pace and studying reams of information. This was the area where he really shone. He was a good field agent for IR, but he knew in his heart of hearts that his brothers were all outstanding. Whether by nature or simply by experience, they were better in the field than he was. True, he found it somewhat disappointing, but none of his brothers equaled him when it came to information technology, research and programming. Even Brains had been known to consult with John Tracy when it came to certain areas of research work.

Finding the birth records of one Constance Amelia Hayes had not been difficult given the technology at his fingertips. His problem was that it had been slightly too easy. He read the details aloud to himself.

" _BIRTHS; Amelia Warren, born 2_ _nd_ _November 2039 at 0720 hours in Cork, Republic of Ireland. Siblings, Sonia Warren, born 2_ _nd_ _November 2039 at 0710 hours; and Thomas Rupert, born 19_ _th_ _March 2035 to Helena and Eugene Warren._

_DEATHS: Eugene and Helena Warren death from multiple injuries following a serious motor collision on Saturday 7_ _th_ _April 2040; pronounced dead at the scene. Thomas Rupert Warren died two weeks later in hospital without ever regaining consciousness, aged just five years old."_

Swiftly John read through the medical rigmarole and came to the notification of the dead couple's twin daughters.

"Ah, here we are; _`Amelia and Sonia Warren escaped relatively unscathed and were taken to Manor House Care facility for minors in County Wicklow where Sonia was quickly adopted by the Cain family from the Orkney Islands, and renamed Bonnie. Amelia was adopted a month later by a local couple, Patrick and Lois Hayes who renamed her Constance, and six months later emigrated to California.'"_

John paused and stared at the information on the screen for a moment. Somehow this was wrong. Nothing was ever this easy. It was entirely possible that he was being overly suspicious, but this looked almost as if it had been put there for him to find. He frowned, then leaning forward, he pressed a comms button.

"John to Eos. Come in."

"Hello John." Came the A.I's childlike voice at once. "Is everything alright?"

"I could use your help, my friend." John told her. "I am hoping you can take a look at the database I am looking at and tell me if the information I am seeing is correct, or if it has been…added more recently."

"You mean falsified records, John?"

"That's what I need to know. Child Agencies and government departments that deal with children's services keep their records under very tight control. I should not have been able to access them so easily."

"I see. I'll do what I can."

There was a pause whilst Eos repositioned the Rover in geostational orbit over Tracy Island, then downloaded herself into John's systems. She started to search through the records he had been examining. Presently, she projected her holographical image into the room, so she appeared to be standing beside him.

"You were correct, John." She told him at once. "These records have been… adapted to appear as the original documents, but the original date-stamp is never completely obliterated. The date stamp given is that of eighteen months ago."

John frowned.

"Eighteen months ago? What of the original documents?"

Eos shook her head.

"Nothing of them left. There is the tell-tale sign that I can pick up of the empty space left by the data, but the data itself has been completely erased. Without trace."

"Eos is there any way any human being, even a computer expert would have been able to discover this information?"

"No, John. I only discovered it because I am able to communicate with the agency computers directly. It was very cleverly done, by means of a computer virus that swept through every system, wiping out all information connected with the young woman Constance Hayes."

John sat back and blinked.

"So, six months before Connie's death, someone erased all her records and replaced them completely with new ones. Who could have the wherewithal to accomplish something like that? Besides us, I mean?"

Eos gave a small smile.

"Are you asking me John, or was that a rhetorical question?"

He grinned.

"You're learning Eos. That was rhetorical of course. The CIA or FBI could do it, as could MI5 in England for starters. But if it was done by official government agencies, for what reason? Witness Protection program? It couldn't be that. Virge has known Connie for years. They were sweethearts at high school."

"John, I can only think of one individual who might go to such lengths if it was his aim to one day attack International Rescue, or some member of the Tracy family."

John nodded and sent her a black look.

"Yes, Eos. I think you're right. This has the Hood's fingerprints all over it. But why?"

John sat back, staring at the now blank screen, pinching his lower lip between this thumb and forefinger. Firstly, what, if anything, should he tell Virgil?

He knew what would happen once he told Scott; but the eldest in his overprotective way was hardly subtle. Yes, he was sensitive and caring, but he would go too far to protect Virgil, and Virgil would, being Virgil, resist in the strongest way, insisting on knowing exactly what was going on. Scott would push back, and the easygoing atmosphere would quickly degenerate into frustration and snappiness.

Should he tell dad first? Dad cared a little too much; and since his return from the grave, had started to develop a protective streak easily as strong as Scott's, with the bonus that as the father, he was less likely to meet resistance. At the end of the day, the same result.

Alright then, he could tell Virgil straight off, and wait to see his reaction. He would be expecting to be the first to learn the results of John's research anyway. What would he do with the information? It would worry him certainly, but truth to tell, John was not sure that it would make any difference to Virgil's feelings. Connie had been a truly wonderful girl. All the brothers had loved her in their own ways. Virgil may not be seeing Connie again in this Scottish girl after all. He might truly be seeing her for herself. The problem being that his reason for loving Connie were all very much present and valid in Bonnie. Virgil was already more than half-way in love with Bonnie already. If she really was similar to Connie in personality as she seemed to be, how could he avoid loving her?

Suddenly, Kayo and Penelope's mission took on an extra urgency. He leaned forward and flicked a switch.

"John Tracy to Kayo and Lady Penelope. Come in."

Both the girls appeared on their separate screens. They greeted him cheerfully and frowned when they noticed his serious expression.

"Kayo, Lady P. I have traced the online lives of Connie Hayes and Bonnie Cain."

"Excellent work John!" Penelope praised him warmly. "That was fast work."

John looked tense.

"That's the problem, Penny. It was too fast. You know how difficult it can be sometimes for an orphan to get access to their _own_ files. I should not have been able to access them so quickly. I had Eos go over what I found. What she learned was very disturbing."

The two women were attentive.

"What is it, John?" Kayo asked him. John took a deep breath.

"Every record we have found online so far has been falsified. The records of the accident that killed Connie's parents have been altered, and every record since then has been completely wiped and replaced. There is no way of knowing the truth of anything those records tell us without physically interviewing the people who knew either of the girls."

"Hmm. That is a complication." Penny remarked thoughtfully. Kayo nodded.

"Well, I would say that whatever the records tell us about Connie, we know much of _her_ history first hand. Was anything you found on her obviously wrong?"

John shook his head.

"No. Details unknown to us have been added, but they are things that Connie herself could not possibly have known, seeing how young she was when she was adopted. I'll send you both copies of everything I found, with the added notes from Eos. When you read it through, you will understand why I am worried. I would say that you have very little time to get to the bottom of this. If I am right in my suspicions, then we may be just scratching at the tip of a very large and dangerous iceberg."

"Are you going to tell Virgil what you have found?" Kayo asked. John bit his lip.

"If it were me, I would want to know; but…"

"John, I think you should tell Virgil first. Not your suspicions, just the plain facts as you and Eos found them. Let him draw his own conclusions. Then tell the others, but make sure you tell Virgil first. We all owe him that much courtesy."

John nodded.

"Thanks Penny, you're right. I'll do that right away. John Tracy out."

John sat for a moment, lost in thought, then pressed his wrist-com.

"Virgil?"

Virgil's voice came clearly through the watch.

"Hey John. You okay?"

"Are you busy right now bro?"

"Just cleaned up after tinkering with Three's aft thrusters. Why? Is everything okay up there?"

"Sure Virge. I've been checking out some things online…you know I promised you that I would, right?"

"Yeah, thanks John. What did you find?"

"Virgil, I'd rather not talk about this over the comms. Can we meet in Lucille Bay? I'd rather tell you what I found in private before giving dad and Scott the chance to jump all over it."

John saw his younger brother's face go tense, but he smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing, John. I'm on my way. Meet you there in twenty minutes."

John swiftly downloaded the information into his tablet computer, then slipped it and a six-pack of beers from the chiller into his back-pack then left the building on foot and started to descend the hill through the jungle, heading for their mother's favourite bay.

What would Virgil make of it?


	7. Beer And Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is Bonnie? John discovers that things may not be quite as they seem...

Virgil sat on the sand, hugging his knees. He had changed back into his regular red check shirt and jeans, but he had removed his boots and left them at the top of the beach, out of the way of the waves. He wiggled his toes into the sand and wondered what kind of information John could have come up with that merited meeting here, on mom's beach.

If John had chosen to talk to him here, then clearly, he was concerned about Virgil's possible reaction. No one ever raised a voice on mom's beach. This was where they came to remember her, to think about her. If ever religion was considered amongst the family, this was their quiet place for such contemplations. John knew that Virgil would control his reactions here on this beach. What kind of information could he have found that would prompt him this far?

A hand dropped lightly on his shoulder holding a can of beer. Virgil accepted the offering, and cracked it open at once, savoring the flavour of his favourite brew.

"This is an ominous sign."

"It's a beer."

Virgil glanced round as his older brother dropped lightly down on to the sand beside him, placing his backpack down behind him and leaning casually against it.

"Well, a beer on the beach with my brother is a good start anyway. How many have you got there?"

John grinned cracking open a can for himself and taking a long swig.

"Enough to take the edge off the pain without adding any more to it."

Virgil nodded.

"Fair enough. I gather the news you have for me will give me all the pain I need?"

John met his eyes.

"It's…"

He faltered, and Virgil felt for him. Clearly imparting bad news whatever its nature was not John's forte. John's powerful feelings for his family made him too sympathetic. He would make a terrible field medic in that case, and a worse doctor. He took another sip of his drink and gave his brother an encouraging nod.

"Johnny, whatever it is, I'm going to have to find out; and I would sooner you told me than find out some other way. Tell me what you've found before I get too blotto to care."

John nodded and removed his computer pad from his bag and activated it.

"At first the information seemed straight-forward. I became suspicious because I did not have to hack into anyone's systems to find it. You know as well as I do how hard it can be to dig up the personal files of orphaned and; or adopted children."

Virgil nodded.

"I know. All in the understandable cause of child protection. You mean the files on Connie weren't protected?"

John shook his head.

"Just a single layer of protection. That's all. I found details of the crash that killed her parents, and her older brother, and a pair of twin girls that were taken to an orphanage and later adopted by two different families. Then the information said that the adoptive parents of one of the girls emigrated to California, whilst the other child was taken to Orkney by her new parents."

Virgil nodded, a gleam in his eye.

"Identical twins? That would explain a lot!"

John looked doubtful.

"That's what I thought at first, but Virge, you need to read the whole file. I was worried because of the lack of security on the files, and I asked Eos to check it out. Here, I downloaded everything I found, and Eos' findings as well. Look for yourself."

Virgil read the file through, and his face fell. Finally, he looked up.

"Okay, I can see why you are worried. But it still explains who she is."

"But Virge, if all that information about the twins was already in the files, why did someone have to go to all the trouble to delete it all and replace it? Some of this is obviously a fabrication, and we know that the information on Connie is true, so it follows that any fabrication has to be in connection with her twin."

"John, you're suggesting that either there was no twin, or that there was, and the twin died or something. But if that is the case, then who the hell is Bonnie? That would bring it back to being the Hood in disguise or something, and I just cannot believe it."

John looked sympathetic.

"Virgil, I'm not telling you what this means, neither am I telling you what you should or should not believe about it. Kayo and Penny are investigating things for you. I've given them this information, and they'll check it out. They can at least find people who knew the girls and confirm what we've learnt. I would say that this information would answer our questions about Bonnie if that file had not been deleted and rewritten. Almost as if someone knew we would want to check it out sometime."

"Eos is not mistaken about it?"

John shook his head.

"She told me the file was deleted by a computer virus programmed to destroy all personal details about Connie Hayes. She said that it was cleverly done, but that the date stamp of the new file is irrefutable. Just eighteen months ago. The original file is deleted beyond recovery, but the space it vacated is still there, with the original date stamp of when the original file was created…in the early summer of 2040."

Virgil bit his lip.

"Well I don't know who could be responsible for that. Certainly, Connie would not have known anything about her personal information being tampered with. She would have been incensed. As for Bonnie, it seems to me that someone is using her somehow to get to me, but she is no less real for all that."

John drank the last of his can of beer.

"She is certainly a real girl, and she seems very…ordinary…I mean, nothing that might suggest she is the Hood in disguise or anything."

He turned to his younger brother, anguish on Virgil's behalf showing on his face.

"Virgil, I truly hope everything turns out the way you hope it will…but in case it doesn't, please try not to fall too far. I can't bear the thought of you being hurt all over again."

Virgil managed a wan smile.

"It was already too late for that John, the moment I first laid eyes on her. If it's any comfort to you, she has already turned me down. She wants to be loved for herself, not for the ghost of someone else."

John shook his head in wonder. He opened his mouth to comment; but thought better of it and grabbed two more beers from his pack instead.

"Here bro, perhaps this will help to dull everything for a few hours."

The two brothers drank their beer, and reminisced until they both fell asleep. Darkness fell over the island, and the two brothers slept on their mother's beach safely side by side, Virgil resting his head on John's chest. It was just after midnight that, on being missed by their family, were both located through their watches.

"On mother's beach?" Asked Gordon, in puzzled amusement. "Together? Shall I go and check on them?"

Jeff shook his head.

"It's alright, son. You and the others get back to bed. I'll go down there. I can find my way to Lucille Beach blindfolded."

Jeff found his sons sleeping peacefully and couldn't help smiling at the sight. This was the sort of thing that had happened a lot when these two were children; especially if one or both of them had things on their minds. It was not difficult to guess what had happened; especially when he shone his torch around them and found the empty beer cans. He collected the cans and placed them back into John's backpack; and withdrew from it the emergency kit he knew sensible John always kept in there. He unfolded the emergency foil blanket and spread it over the two of them, then stood back, resisting the temptation to photograph them. They were far enough up the beach to be safe from the high tide, so they could be safely left. They would likely benefit from the time together. He smiled, kissed them both lightly on the forehead, and returned quietly to the villa.

In lady Penelope's drawing room, Kayo sat with Penny and Parker, sipping English tea, discussing the information John had sent them.

"We seem to have two avenues to investigate, Kayo." Penny said thoughtfully. "Both girls. Bonnie…or Sonia Warren as she was; and Connie, or Amelia Warren as _she_ was."

Kayo nodded.

"Well, we already know a great deal about Connie's background. She and Virgil practically grew up together. I remember her adoptive parents pretty well."

"Are they dead?" Parker enquired. Kayo shook her head.

"No. After Connie's death, they decided to get as far away from California as they could. They are working for some charity in Africa, looking after elephants in a sanctuary. `Doing something useful with the time they have left' as they put it." Kayo replied. "I suggest that we split up, Penny. One of us can find the place in Ireland where they were taken after they were orphaned, find out if there really was two of them, and if necessary, go to Africa and speak to the Hayes' about what they know. The other should go straight to the Orkney Islands, and find out everything they can about Bonnie. Her adoptive parents, who they are, what they're like, where she lived, her schoolteachers…"

Penny nodded.

"Well, Parker and I ought to go to Orkney. I can use the story that I am contemplating employing her and wish to check up on her before I make the offer. That will give me every reason to be there and ask questions."

Kayo grinned.

"Good idea. That means I am off to Cork in Ireland."

"Cork? Oh yes, where the Warren family came from and where the children were born. Kayo…be careful. If the Hood is somehow behind this…and I am hoping we are wrong this time, but if he is, he won't appreciate us poking around."

"Well, if Bonnie is a plant somehow, and the Hood is involved, then you will be in even more danger."

Penny nodded, smiling serenely. She nodded towards Parker, who was reluctantly serving tea in a saucer to Sherbet.

"I will have Parker to watch my back. All the best Kayo. Let's keep in touch."

Kayo laid her half empty teacup aside and stood up.

"I'd better get started. I'll let you know what I find. Parker."

Kayo made it as far as the doorway when the little pug reached her side and yapped indignantly. Kayo grinned bent down and scratched his head.

"You look after those two won't you Bertie?"

Sherbet yapped in response and Kayo winked at him.

"Good man."

She hurried outside. Presently, Penny and Parker heard Thunderbird Shadow taking off. Penny stood up.

"Parker we too must prepare to leave."

Parker nodded and collected up the tea things. He frowned as he looked into Kayo's cup.

"Milady! Miss Kayo did not drink her tea!"


	8. Into The Vaut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayo does a little digging . . .

Much of Cork, on the southern coast of Ireland had been flattened and reduced to rubble during the global conflicts at the start of the twenty-first century. Kayo reflected on the terrible destruction that had resulted from that madness. It was not as if Cork itself, the place or the people had been guilty of anything that merited their destruction. They had simply been in the way. The way of the madness of humanity. Was it humanity? Devilry was closer, when Kayo considered the place as it was in the old photos she had seen from the last century that her onboard computer had shown her. Cork in the year 2061 was very much the product of new design and new technology. As much of the ancient as had survived had been carefully preserved and blended in with the new, so that as she wandered through the streets, what she saw was an eclectic mix of styles and eras.

She had secreted Shadow in a park that bordered the river, with her full defenses turned on; which meant, in essence, that she was in stealth mode. With a swiftness that Scott and Virgil would have envied, given the confined space available, Kayo removed her skin-tight uniform and donned her regular clothing before she ventured into the city to begin her investigations.

Cork was an attractive city and would have been a nice place to visit on a nice day. But unfortunately, the rain was pouring down hard, and the wind whipped around her causing her to wipe the droplets of rain from her face with one hand whilst she clutched at her jacket with the other, huddling herself as far into it as possible.

She had not prepared for rain, and she was not accustomed to such cold either. She rolled her eyes at herself. She was becoming soft, spending so much time on a tropical island, or being pampered in a stately home. It was about time she got stuck back into doing her job properly.

She found her way to the north bank of the river and hurried along it, keeping the river to her left until she found one of the older buildings in this modern city.

A squared off building in red brick, it had formerly been the eye, ear and throat hospital in the last century, and had fallen into disrepair during the troubles and been abandoned; until in 2020 or thereabouts, the building had received a complete refit, and had come into service as a maternity hospital for the rapidly growing population that were slowly returning to the devastated city.

As a maternity hospital it had been minute compared to the large modern complexes most women preferred, and as such soon found itself being left behind. Eventually, fifteen years ago it had closed its doors as a hospital and been made over as the records office for the city. Every birth, death, marriage, divorce, every transaction of every sort anywhere within a fifty-mile radius of Cork was stored here. All over the city, once information had been uploaded electronically, the paper files were transported to `The Old Hospital' for storage.

Kayo opened the door and went inside.

The building's appearance on the outside was a shell, for public appearance only. Inside the doors, the place reminded Kayo of some kind of colossal steel vault with metal stairways and walkways in every direction. A weasily little man in a pinstriped suit and a spotted bow tie greeted her before she had taken three steps.

"What can we do for you Miss…?"

"I am here to search for some information."

"You are not requesting to retrieve a file?"

"No. I do not wish to take it anywhere, simply to read it."

"What information are you looking for?"

"I cannot tell you that, sir. I am sorry. That is highly confidential."

"Then you will understand why I must ask you for your official clearance before I allow you to proceed any further into this facility."

Kayo nodded amiably.

"Of course."

She reached into her pocket and brought out a card and handed it to him. He took it and turned it over and over in his hands. He looked up in confusion.

"This is blank!"

Kayo merely nodded. A moment later, he toppled unconscious into her arms. She smiled and propped him against a pillar, and softly patted his cheek before heading to the elevator.

"Thanks, Brains for the sedative embedded business cards." She thought to herself. "They really do save a lot of time!"

Looking at the directory, she pushed the button for level L52, and waited as the elevator began its journey deep underground.

It never failed to amaze Kayo, the blinkered outlook of so many workers who acted rather like sheep. Simply following orders, following their instructions but no more, taking things for granted rather than thinking for themselves and showing a little initiative. Once she had made it past the guard dog at the main entrance, no one took any notice of her at all. It seemed that since she had been allowed through to the main part of the vault, then she had every right to be there, and therefore was of no interest to anyone else.

She made it to the fifty-second floor below ground level and peered round in the rather dim light. This was the floor for births. She walked briskly along the rows until she eventually came to an entire section labelled 2039. She repressed a sigh.

The cabinets containing the files were colossal, stacked immensely high, and were kept in well ordered rows as far as her eye could see.

Alright, alphabetical order then. She was at the letter `A'. She wanted `W'. Darn it.

It took her twenty minutes walking to find the stack labelled `W'. Were there really so many people born in 2039 whose surname began with W? Cork was a large place, sure. But surely not as large as the size of this filing system suggested.

It was not until she climbed up the access steps to reach the shelf she needed that she realized that these were not the files for Cork. They were the files for the whole of Ireland.

Three hours searching through the W's and finally here it was. She snatched up the file, took it to the small reading ledge against the railing and started to read.

There was a birth certificate for Sonia Warren, born on the 2nd November, 2039 at 0710 precisely, with a small attached note to say that the child was born with a congenital heart defect and was not expected to live.

Kayo frowned thoughtfully; and took out the next sheet. It was another birth certificate. This time made out for Amelia Warren, born on the 2nd November, 2039 at 0720 hours. The attached note added that the baby was slightly jaundiced at birth and received immediate medical treatment. The child was expected to make a full recovery and suffer no ill effects. Both certificates named the parents as Eugene and Helena Warren.

Kayo used her miniature camera to record the details of the two certificates, with the additional notes, then filed everything away exactly as she had found it.

So, what had happened to Sonia Warren? Not expected to live? Had she survived after all? Kayo once again consulted the vault directory and made her way downstairs to the death records.

These of course were filed by both year of death and by name and cross-referenced. Once again, Kayo marched down the length of the vault to find the W's.

This time she found what she was looking for very quickly.

Saturday, 7th April 2040, the death of Eugene Warren from multiple injuries following a motor accident. Specific cause of death, exsanguination caused by a main artery being severed following impalement. Kayo shuddered at the thought, and after making a quick copy, she looked further.

The same date, the death of Helena Warren, massive brain trauma caused by the collision. Kayo shook her head sadly and picked out the final sheets from the file.

The death of Thomas Rupert Warren aged Five years old on the 22nd April, 2040 of massive head trauma following the accident that killed his parents.

There was no mention in this particular file of the daughter or daughters. What had happened to them?

If they had both been there in the car and survived, they would not be mentioned in the death reports from the accident. On the other hand, if the sickly twin with the heart condition had died at some other time, then her death records would be elsewhere.

Kayo kept looking. And looking. And looking.

After searching fruitlessly for what felt like hours, she stopped and thought back to the files she had received from John. If somehow the sick twin had survived, then according to the files, she would have been sent to that place in County Wicklow…what was it again? The Manor House Care facility from where the girls had apparently been adopted.

The heart defect troubled Kayo. The detailed medical descriptions meant little enough to her, except to convince her that only a miracle could have saved the child once it had left the safety of its mother's womb. But if it had died, where was the death certificate?

Had the doctors cured her, or effected some kind of treatment? And if this Bonnie Cain really was this sickly child grown up, then clearly there was no longer any sign of any congenital heart problem. Even with today's technology, some medical conditions were still a long way from being curable. Somehow, rather than answering her questions, this seemed to be raising more of them instead. The likelihood of her being able to get her hands on the private medical records of the baby Sonia Warren, whether the child lived to become Bonnie Cain or not, was zero. Medical records were strictly private. Only a physician, sworn to his oath had the means to see them. She would need help with this one. Time to call in Doctor Alfred Whistler once again.

Alf Whistler was a highly skilled surgeon who gave his time as a valued undercover agent for International Rescue, as well as being an old family friend. He would excel at finding out the details about baby Sonia and what had happened to her. In the meantime, Kayo would travel to County Wicklow.

She had an orphanage to visit.


	9. Penny Investigates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Penelope and Parker are investigating Bonnie's background, but end up with more questions than answers . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half of my family are in fact from Scotland, but I personally am not, and although I am very in love with the Scottish language, dialects and accents, I am insufficiently familiar with them, and therefore not confident in my ability to use it in the written form. To be correct, I would transcribe all appropriate conversations herein using the local dialect and accent; but there would be a high risk of error; and quite possibly some readers would find it more difficult to follow. Therefore, I have chosen to represent all conversations in this chapter, either English, American or Scottish in the common English dialect. It is as well to keep in mind, that this chapter does in fact take place largely in the Orkney Islands, off the Northern coast of Scotland, with the lovely local accent and dialect.
> 
> Although Orkney and Kirkwall are real, other local places, including the hotel are fictional.

Lady Penelope stood at the window of her small hotel room, staring out in awe. The wide, rolling hills, bright and green in the sun proved a stunning backdrop to the town of Kirkwall. She could hear Parker bustling about behind her.

"You know Parker, I have never been to the Orkney Islands before." She commented, not taking her eyes off the vista. "Somehow I expected it to be either under three feet of snow or pouring with rain. But this weather is lovelier than in London right now."

Parker repressed a smirk.

"Milady, sayin' that it always rains in Scotland is like sayin' that lightnin' never strikes twice in the same place…"

She turned away and smiled.

"Nonsense, Parker, I know. It is too easy to make assumptions. They do have a lot of rain here…something like an average of thirty-seven point something inches per year, but that does not mean it rains every day."

"Don't worry milady, I packed some waterproofs for you in case it does rain."

Lady Penelope looked appalled.

"Waterproofs, Parker? As in those large plastic yellow coats I see roadside workmen wearing? They are hardly flattering. Surely a large umbrella would suffice?"

Parker shook his head.

"No milady, large plastic pink coats. At least, One is pink anyway. Mine is black."

"Pink?"

The lady's eyebrows had risen marginally until her manservant produced the garment, whereupon she coughed loudly.

"Parker, that is hideous. It may be pink, but it looks horrible. I would sooner get wet."

Parker did not comment, and when she looked at him, she caught him in the act of trying to wipe a smirk off his face.

"Parker, tell me you brought our large umbrella?"

Parker inclined his head.

"H'it's in the car milady, but if the wind whips up bad like it does sometimes in these parts, the 'brolly ain't going to 'elp much."

Penny shook her head.

"It'll do. I am not proposing a hike across the moors after all. Now, how about some tea?"

The shocking nature of the pink plastic coat must have been playing on her mind, however, as it intruded into her dreams that night, turning every sweet and lovely scene into one of ugliness and despair. She awakened in the morning and found her heart pounding in her throat at the sight of the torrential rain that bucketed down from the black and somber sky. Parker saw her face and guessed what was on her mind.

"The forecast for today is overcast but dry milady. The rain should stop in an hour or so."

"Parker, there are plenty of garments available that provide adequate protection from the elements that do not offend the eyes or the sensibilities. What on earth possessed you to bring along that atrocious article? Where did you get it from anyway?"

Parker raised his eyebrows, achieving just the right tone of injured pride.

"I like it. Nothing keeps off the rain like the good old plastic raincoat milady, and you h'are partial to the colour pink! I promised your father that I would take care of you. Protecting you from the rain is…"

She held up her hand, shaking her head slightly.

"Protection from the rain? What about the danger of exposing me to ridicule?"

"One can die from pneumonia milady. I ain't never 'eard of anyone dying of ridicule."

A faint whiff of amusement played around her eyes.

"You're quite right Parker, but I do not plan to take any chances. Come, let us stop this now. We have work to do."

"Yes milady. Breakfast here in your room milady, or would you prefer to breakfast in the restaurant?"

The rain eased off quickly enough, the by the time they were ready to leave their hotel, the rainclouds had started to break up, showing glimpses of blue sky here and there. They made it to Kirkwall High School for eleven twenty-five, in plenty of time for Penelope's appointment with the headmistress at eleven thirty. Parker escorted her inside and then returned to wait with the car. Lady Penelope approached the receptionist a pleasant smile.

"Can I help you miss?" the young woman asked guardedly. Penny nodded.

"I am Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. I have an appointment with a Mrs. Agatha Lindsay."

The woman nodded.

"I am the secretary here, Susan Murray. Mrs. Lindsay has been called out of her office to deal with a scrum in the gymnasium. She will be back directly. Would you care to sit for a moment?"

"Thank you, but I am fine. So, have you been working here for long, Miss Murray?"

Miss Murray gave her a searching look, then shrugged.

"I came to work here straight from college."

Lady Penelope nodded. Sizing the young woman up, she guessed her to be around twenty-three. Much younger than the average age one would tend to expect from a school secretary. Taking a risk, she said;

"Around five or six years then I would guess." Lady Penelope's smile was engaging, and slightly mischievous. Miss Murray's mouth quirked.

"Nearly six years now. Are you always a good guesser, Lady Penelope?"

Penny let out a light, tinkling laugh.

"I meet a lot of people, that's all. You sound local by your accent."

"Yes. I attended this very school myself. I grew up on a farm about two miles from here. I used to cycle in to school every day from the farm."

"You decided that farming was not for you, then?"

Miss Murray shook her head.

"I loved it as a child, but as I grew up I decided I wanted a job that did not involve getting up at silly-o'clock every morning, and spending my working life covered in mud and…worse things. My brother Jack is welcome to the place. I have a very small and very clean room in a shared house that suits me fine."

A door clicked behind her, and Lady Penelope turned to see an older lady in her early sixties coming in through the front door. Miss Murray called to her.

"Mrs. Lindsay, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward has arrived for her appointment."

The newcomer greeted her with a smile that lit up her face, making her look suddenly quite a lot younger.

"Lady Penelope; do forgive me for keeping you waiting. An unexpected problem arose. Boys! Please come through to my office. Miss Murray, no calls for the time being please."

She led the way into her office, then closed the door and sat down behind her expansive wooden desk.

"I have heard of you Lady Penelope, even out here. I am full of curiosity to know what brings you to me."

"Well, I know you are busy, so I won't beat around the bush. I am considering taking on a personal assistant. However, parts of my job are quite… confidential you see, so I am engaging in a little background research on one or two potential candidates. There is a young lady who attended this school. She left six years ago. Her name is Bonnie Cain. Her academic qualifications are adequate but not necessary. I wish to know something of her character from your perspective. Can you help me at all?"

"You are doing your own checking? Isn't that a little unusual, Lady Penelope?"

"Not in my line of work, no. Some things I prefer not to leave to others. Do you recall anything of Miss Bonnie Cain?"

The headmistress nodded.

"Certainly. A very pleasant young girl. A little shy if I am honest, but kindhearted. The sort of child who would do anything for anyone. Not the brightest of children it has to be admitted, but as you said, there are qualities other than intelligence that are equally important."

Penny nodded.

"Well, according to her official qualifications, she did well at college. Maybe the break and change of scene helped her?"

The headmistress frowned slightly.

"College? Bonnie Cain has never been to a college, Lady Penelope. Are you sure we are discussing the same girl?"

"You are certain that your pupil Bonnie never attended college? To the best of your knowledge, what did she do when she left school?"

"She works in a care home for the elderly these days over in Kinscarthe. She helps with the cleaning and cooking over there, and the old folks love to hear her singing. She has a lovely singing voice. I have an old school photobook here…the leaving classes every year for the last twenty-something years….six years ago…here we are. There's our Bonnie when she was sixteen years old."

Lady Penelope examined the photograph that Mrs. Lindsay pointed out with interest.

It was a beautiful young girl with long, curly black hair, dark brown eyes and light brown skin, showing a set of perfect teeth in a winning smile.

It was not Bonnie Cain.

Mrs. Lindsay could see something was amiss from the expression on her visitor's face.

"Wrong girl?"

Lady Penelope fished out the picture of Bonnie from her handbag and handed it to her.

"This is the young woman I am…was planning to employ. Does she look familiar to you?"

The headmistress examined the picture.

"Pretty girl." She commented. "I don't know her."

"Are you certain?" Penny urged. "There is a lot riding on this."

The woman was still frowning.

"I don't suppose you have a picture of her as a young child, do you?"

No, but Penny had a copy of a picture of Connie at the age of three that Virgil had sent to her. She brought out her phone and scrolled through it, then showed the picture to the headmistress. Mrs. Lindsay seized on the picture with an exclamation.

"That's her! I thought she had a familiar look about her. I don't know who you are dealing with Lady Penelope, but this picture is of a child I knew about nineteen years ago. She was adopted in America as a baby and brought here by Joel and Darcy Cain. Joel Cain is the brother of Bonnie's father by the way. Joel and Dominic Cain came originally from Nigeria. They came together to work, and both fell in love with local girls."

"What did they call her? Where is she now?"

"I remember her name was Sonia. She had a heart problem. She was waiting for a transplant, but she became too weak and died before they had the chance to operate on her. This photo must have been taken shortly before she died. Poor little mite. The Cains never got over it."

She sniffed and looked up.

"Lady Penelope, if you are thinking of employing someone with Bonnie's name and Sonia's appearance, then she must be related to Sonia somehow. It cannot be either Bonnie or Sonia. So, who is she?"


	10. With A Heart So Shattered And Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tracy family watch, heartbroken as Virgil is overcome by his grief...

Alan was feeling a little out of sorts.

With the careful planning, the initial stages of construction of the new Thunderbird Five was already beginning to take place down in the main hangar and workshops.

Captain Lee Taylor, still determined to return to his new home with the Mars colonists, had first pledged his assistance getting International Rescue back up to full strength once more. So, he had joined the other guys down in the bowels of the island building the framework. With Dad, Lee Taylor, John and Virgil all helping Brains, Alan was left wandering around the island with no particular purpose.

Scott was working in his father's stead on some of the backlog of Tracy Industries paperwork, Gordon was on the mainland, helping grandma with the supply run.

There would be no rescues in the immediate future, and for the time being no Gordon to lark around with. Within a few days Thunderbird Three was going to be commandeered as a cargo ship between Tracy Island and the new satellite's orbital station. He had already been informed that _John_ would be piloting the rocket. _Not_ Alan.

John had looked, in all honesty, a little shamefaced as he watched their father drop the bomb, but Alan could tell he was excited. Excited to be both back at the controls of the rocket, and excited at the prospect of building an exciting new space station with state of the art technology and defensive capabilities. John was happy to be busy once again.

Well, thought Alan, bully for him!

Being honest with himself, he knew that his usefulness would be limited compared with John and Virgil, whom would most certainly be preoccupied with their work in orbit; and with the re-opening of I.R within a week or two, they would certainly be short-handed. Scott and Gordon would need Alan in the field.

He went into his bedroom and out on to the balcony and stood, leaning on the rail staring out to sea. He knew that if it were not for the assistance of captain Taylor, he would be called upon to divide his time between helping out in space and earth-bound rescues. The extra man-power made all the difference.

Except that Alan was alone…and he was _booooored!_

Scott Tracy was also feeling… _less_ than enthusiastic at the role he was presently playing.

He was used to running things. Being the one to call the shots and make the decisions. The one brother that everyone consulted before anything happened.

No longer. Dad was back. I.R was his baby, and besides, he was _dad_! He had the right to run everything if that was what he chose to do. Scott had had the impression that for the most part, he would be leaving the day to day running of International Rescue to Scott, whilst he himself focused on getting Tracy Industries back up to where it should be on the world scene.

In which case, why oh why was dad downstairs helping the guys work on the new station whilst _he_ was left with all this confounded Tracy Industries paperwork!?

If there was one thing Scott hated and avoided whenever he could, it was paperwork. There was a reason that during the time dad was missing, although he had frequently travelled to the various offices of the company and kept an eye on what happened, he had nominated John to keep watch on the paperwork and alert him if anything untoward came to light…as it had done on more than one occasion. John was good at paperwork. He even enjoyed it in his own weird way. Not for the first time, Scott wondered why chance had decided that he was to be firstborn and not John? John would have been ideal at the job.

Scott pictured the last few years if John had been the eldest, and Scott had been second-born. John was a born planner. He was ace at multi-tasking and he never seemed to lose his cool. Although he did occasionally get angry, he never lost his temper, which made for a man who never acted impulsively.

He smiled to himself. John would have been great at running the family, the company _and_ International Rescue, but he would have had to do it all from Tracy Island. He would have had to send someone else to be their permanent eye-in-the-sky; probably Alan. Both Alan and John would have been unhappy.

Well, Scott mused. Perhaps `chance' knew what it was doing after all. John was a lot more talented than he realized, but he loved his own role, and had no wish to change it. Scott was a good leader. He knew he had his limitations, and he had his faults, but he was a good leader who kept his head and never panicked. He did not baulk at making hard choices, heartbreaking though they occasionally were. Perhaps he was the right brother to be the eldest after all. Sometimes though, he reflected, it _sucked_ being the eldest! He was still stuck with all this thrice blasted paperwork!

Virgil was silent, listening to the laughter and banter coming from his companions as they worked. Sometimes, he decided, it really hurt being in love!

In love with someone available, who loved you in return…that was paradise. But to love someone who for whatever reason was not available…that was the worst agony he had ever experienced.

A year ago, when Connie had been killed in an `accident', his heart had been shattered. No _, he_ had been shattered. His recollections of the death of his mother, and how dad's reaction to her loss had made everything worse for the entire family had kept him from going completely to pieces. He had been given all the help and support from his grandmother and his brothers, and he had, over the months, eventually learned to live with her death.

Not that he didn't still think of her every day and wonder about all the might-have-been things that would now never happen, and not that he never occasionally wept for her in the privacy of his bed at night. He still did all those things, but he had learned to accept that she was gone and was never coming back.

And yet…somehow, she was back again. He knew in his heart of hearts that Bonnie Cain was not really Connie, could not possibly be, and yet…

She looked the same. Her speech, her laugh, her attitudes, Bonnie was almost identical to Connie in every way; well, insofar as he could tell in the short conversation he had had with her.

If Bonnie did turn out to be some long-lost identical twin of Connie's well, he could learn to love her for herself, couldn't he? She had a different favourite colour than Connie, so she wasn't identical in _every_ way. Virgil ached to see her again, to talk to her again. To find out more about her likes and dislikes, to find out in what other ways she differed from his Connie.

Every time he closed his eyes, her face drifted before him. Every time his phone rang he jumped, for a crazy second hoping it would be her, before reason took over, reminding him that she did not have his number. And right at this moment, she would be unable to apply to Lady Penelope for his contact details, since Lady Penelope was away from home, looking into her background. Finding out who she was.

He leapt a foot in the air when someone tapped him on the shoulder, earlier calls and shouts having gone unheeded.

"Ah! What? Oh, Brains, sorry. I was…distracted."

"I c could see that. Are you alright, V Virgil?"

Virgil could see his father and brother pretending not to overhear, whilst Lee Taylor merely caught his eye and gave him a comforting wink. Virgil brought his attention back to Brains.

"I'm fine, Brains. I'm just…a little distracted, that's all."

Brains indicated the assembly in front of him.

"I c can see that. You've fitted the joist upside down. Do you need to take a short break?"

Jolted back to where he was, Virgil looked down and pinked when he realized what he had done.

"I'm sorry Brains. Perhaps I should run and get a coffee for all of us?"

"That's the ticket, Vernon!" called Taylor eagerly from the other side of the room. Jeff caught Virgil's eye and winked at him wickedly.

"Good idea Victor!" he called. "A plate of cookies wouldn't come amiss either. I believe MAX made a batch this morning, if Alan hasn't finished them all off by this time."

Virgil rolled his eyes at Brains, who smirked and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Are you sure you are alright, my friend?"

Virgil sighed heavily.

"No…no I'm not really, but I guess I will be…"

He turned and headed for the lift.

"I'll go and fetch the…"

His voice trailed off as he left the room, suddenly in a hurry.

Alan wandered down to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. He was thirsty, but it was something to do, somewhere to go, just for five minutes. Perhaps the guys downstairs would appreciate a small snack tray about now? He found Virgil standing in the middle of the room, looking around him in a vague manner. He looked somehow lost.

"Hey Virge, you alright, bro?"

Virgil didn't seem to hear. Alan frowned. He looked really lost, somehow. He approached him slowly, and put his arm around his older brother.

"Virge?"

"Alan. Hi."

"You ok? I came down to get some water, and some snacks. I thought you guys might like something too about now. I guess you had the same idea huh?"

Virgil nodded.

"Yeah, I came for coffee and cookies."

He turned and wandered out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the lounge. Alan was suddenly worried. Something was wrong. He wondered if it had anything to do with that girl they had met at Penny's the other day? The girl that was a dead ringer for Connie?

He ran up the back stairs and knocked at dad's office door. He knew Scott was inside, beavering away and would probably welcome an interruption. He suppressed a smile at hearing the eager "Come in!" that quickly followed.

Scott looked about halfway through his pile of forms and reports, and his hair was a frowsy mess, as though he had been repeatedly running his fingers through it. He lowered his eyebrows worriedly at the look on his youngest brother's face.

"Allie? Are you okay?"

Alan stepped inside and closed the door softly.

"I'm alright Scott, but I'm worried about Virgil."

Scott's big brother sense started itching badly.

"Tell me, Alan."

Alan explained.

"I found him in the kitchen, looking like he'd forgotten why he was there. He said he had come up for coffee and cookies for the guys, but instead of making the coffee, he turned and wandered off. Scott, I've never seen him like that. I can get the coffee and stuff, but…"

Scott got up. He ruffled Alan's hair.

"Thanks for letting me know Alan. I'll go and find him and make sure he's okay. If you're making coffee, could you get me one too?"

Alan grinned.

"No problem. Coffee and cookies all round. I'll leave yours and Virgil's in the kitchen for you."

Grateful for something to do, Alan returned to the kitchen and set to work, whilst Scott searched for Virgil.

He found him in the lounge, sitting at his piano, his fingers resting on the keys, but not playing. He stood and watched for a couple of minutes, but still his brother did not start to play. He was staring down at the piano keys as though he didn't know what they were. Scott crossed the room and slid into the piano stool beside him. He started to slowly play "Fur Elise" with one hand, and as he'd hoped, Virgil came in with the accompanying melody-line. They played the piece together through to the end, then sat in silence side by side. Scott put his arm round Virgil's shoulders, and his brother leaned in to him.

"Feeling better?" Scott asked at length. Virgil nodded.

"Thanks."

There was silence again, broken only by a sniff. Scott looked down. Tears were leaking down his brother's cheeks.

"I'm trying, Scott, but I don't know if I am strong enough. It hurts so much. Can't I just go to bed for six months and wake up with no memory of any of this?"

"You want to forget Connie?"

Virgil shook his head.

"No, she deserves to be remembered, and I will, for as long as I live. But Bonnie…she is…I know she isn't really Connie, Scott, but seeing her, talking to her just brought everything back, and I just can't help imagining what might have been…and all the things that could be…"

"Didn't you say she already turned you down?"

"I told her about Connie, and she doesn't want to be compared all the time with my dead lover."

"That is fair enough."

"I know, but I can't…it's brought it all back again Scott, the pain, the…Scott, I think I'm gonna be…"

Scott's stomach revulsed even whilst his heart almost broke in sympathy as his brother lurched sideways and vomited, narrowly missing the piano. It wasn't much, but it left Virgil shaking and tearful. Scott pulled him into a hug until he felt the shaking subside a little, then he led him to the door.

"Go to the kitchen, Virge. Alan's taken care of the coffee and cookies. He's left some in the kitchen for us. You go. I'll…um…clean up the mess and be with you in two minutes."

Virgil nodded.

"Sorry Scott…"

Scott smiled at him.

"Go on before I change my mind and make you clean this up yourself."

Virgil waved, and ran.

Scott fetched the mop and bucket, and holding his breath, he cleaned the floor, then with a clean cloth, wiped over the nearby surfaces. Poor Virgil had been handling the death of his fiancée with remarkable stoicism until Penny's party. Meeting Bonnie seemed to have set him right back to zero again, with the added twist that he was allowing himself the facility of hope, that maybe he could find the same love all over again with Bonnie.

Even Virgil himself could see the danger in that, but his imagination was clearly more powerful than his reason in this occasion. As Scott headed down to the kitchen to talk to his lovesick brother, he found himself hoping that they would find a way to help Virgil to deal with his broken heart. If Virgil ever lost control… Scott couldn't bear to think where that might lead him.

Scott found his younger brother hanging over the sink, retching sounds clearly reaching his ears. He hurried over, his big brother sense going into overdrive. He rubbed Virgil's back gently, until finally Virgil turned on the tap, cleaning the sink, then splashed his own face with the cold water. He turned to face Scott, wiping his face dry with the back of his hand.

"Back a whole year, right?" Scott said softly. Virgil nodded.

"Keep reliving that day we went to the mainland to…you know."

Scott nodded. He remembered clearly accompanying Virgil to confirm the identity officially of the dead body of one Connie Hayes. He had not seen Virgil that devastated and vulnerable since he was a small child. Virgil had made great strides forward in his grieving process during the past year. It seemed that all of that improvement had been undone.

Who the hell was this Bonnie Cain anyway? Just her appearance had thrown his brother back into the desperate throes of grief. He handed his brother a mug of coffee.

"Here Virge. Sit and drink."

Virgil sat and sipped at the coffee, wincing slightly and started to ply it with sugar. Scott stared.

"Since when do you take sugar in coffee?"

"Since right now. I think I need it."

"You need sleep."

"Not tired."

"Grief is tiring. Crying is tiring."

"I'm not crying."

"Perhaps you would feel a bit better if you did. Besides, throwing up is tiring too."

Virgil stuck his tongue out at Scott.

"You forget Scott, I throw up at least twice a week for one reason or another."

"Alright then, some exercise. Come for a jog with me, around the coastline."

Virgil blinked.

"Scott, it won't work."

"Indulge me little brother. There is method in my madness."

"Didn't you get that the wrong way round?"

"Virgil, you're the one into psychiatry and medicine. You know better than I do what I mean. Exercise releases the body's natural antidote to depression. It won't cure your grief, how could it? But it will help you to take your mind off yourself and help you not to get too lost in everything."

Virgil got up and paced around the kitchen.

"I feel like I am acting childishly, like a mixture of both Alan and Gordon at their worst, and then some. Like I should be over feeling this bad by now."

He stopped his pacing and stared out across the patio and swimming pools towards the ocean. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Scott's reply was so soft he only just made out the words.

"There is no set time limit on grief, Virgil. You can grieve for as long as you need to. Dad is still grieving for mom, and we lost her sixteen years ago."

Virgil closed his eyes.

"God, not that. Scott, I don't want to still be feeling this way sixteen years from now. I can't…I need…I couldn't survive that. I just want peace…I want to go to bed and stare up at the ceiling and think of nothing like I used to do before I met Connie. I want to be the man I used to be. I don't like who…what I've become. I…"

He broke off, and turned away, his shoulders heaving as he started to weep silently.

His heart breaking, Scott tried to pull Virgil into a hug, but the younger man pulled away shaking his head.

"I know you care Scott, but you don't understand, you never did. You've never been in love, you've never lost someone like that…you can't possibly understand how much this hurts, how sharp this pain is."

Tears in his own eyes, Scott pleaded with him.

"Then tell me, Virgil. Make me understand. Talk to me. Please brother. It's killing me seeing you like this."

Virgil breathed deeply, valiantly trying to suppress his sobs, then raised his wet eyes to meet Scott's, his voice broken with emotion.

"Scott, imagine the agony of a severe attack of wind around your heart…then imagine someone has plunged a knife into your gut and is twisting it round and round…then…" he swallowed painfully through another suppressed sob. "Then imagine you've been sucking on a giant gobstopper that has become stuck in your throat…your heart is pounding like a thousand jackhammers… and then imagine your brain seems to have forgotten every single thing it has ever known except that one thing you are desperate to forget. That face, those eyes smiling at you, and then…and then…the hosp…"

His voice broke, and he collapsed on to his knees, his chest heaving with sobs so vast he could hardly catch his breath. He wrapped his arms around his middle, as he finally exploded, desperate tears echoing around the room, shattering Scott's soul into a million tiny pieces.

Alan paused halfway up the back stairs, as he heard the sound of his two older brothers in the kitchen. Something seriously was wrong with Virgil. It had to be something to do with that girl Bonnie, and Connie's death. Virgil had been doing okay considering everything, until Bonnie came along looking like some kind of long-lost twin. She had clearly send Virgil into some kind of desperate spin. From the sound of it, Scott was not coping as well as he usually did. This kind of thing was beyond even Scotty's remit. Bigger guns were needed. He turned and bolted back down the stairs.

Jeff Tracy was irritated at first to find his youngest son jabbering at his elbow in an excited whisper whilst he was trying to work. But the words _Virgil, Kitchen,_ and _bad_ were enough to catch his attention. He listened attentively as Alan described what he had heard, nodded once, excused himself to John and Brains and telling Alan to keep out of the way unless called for, took off up the stairs at a run.

Scott was relieved beyond measure when his father appeared beside him. Scott mouthed the words _Connie_ and _Bonnie_ to him, and his father nodded. Without having heard the conversation, he had a good idea what had transpired. Virgil still smelled faintly of vomit, which indicated to Jeff exactly how serious things were.

Virgil was still weeping, but quietly now, much less noise, his face be-slobbered with tears and snot. Jeff patted Scott on the shoulder and gave him a faint smile, then bending over, he picked up his middle son in his arms as though he had been just five years old again; and carried him from the room.

Scott found Alan sitting miserably on the stairs, wondering what to do with himself, and after enveloping him in a reassuring hug, invited him outside for a stroll along the beach.

They strolled, feeling the warm wind on their faces, ruffling their hair, and when they returned an hour later, imbued finally with the peace of the wind and ocean, they found their father waiting for them in the kitchen.

"How is he, dad?" Scott asked him. "I so badly wanted to help, but I…"

Jeff clapped him around the shoulders reassuringly.

"It's alright, son. He's sleeping right now. I had hoped that none of you boys would ever have to go through the kind of thing I…"

Alan looked up, his fear and worry for Virgil showing in his eyes.

"Dad, does it ever go away? Will Virgil ever…?"

Jeff shook his head.

"No son, grief never completely leaves you. It changes in character over time; you learn ways of living with it. You can even learn to be happy again, but the sadness of losing someone never really goes away. Not completely. Virgil will learn to be almost his old self again Alan. It'll just take a bit of time. We all need to be patient with him. Let him cry or shout or scream or ignore us if that is what he needs to do without getting mad at him. Can you do that?"

Alan looked surprised.

"For my big brother? I can do anything."

Alan frowned and cocked his head to one side.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Alan shook his head.

"I could have sworn I heard…"

Suddenly an alarm sounded throughout the villa.

"…the cliff face opening up!" Alan finished, staring at his father and brother in confusion. "That can't be Gordon and Grandma back yet, it's too soon. Neither can it be Kayo or Lady P…they're in Europe…is someone going out?"

A clattering of feet on the stairs preceded the appearance of John and Brains, panting.

"Someone is going out without authorization!" Brains wheezed. They stared at one another. Scott's eyes widened, his expression mirrored by his father.

"Virgil!" they realized.

"Damn!" Jeff swore, and they took off at a run for the runway.

They were too late. The older of Jeff's two jets was already in the sky. They found a note on the control desk.

"Dad, Brains, guys;

Sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I can't survive being half a world away from where I really want to be. Forgive me, but I have sabotaged the controls, just so you won't be able to take over the plane by remote to force me back. I won't insult you by explaining where I am going. You'll have no trouble finding me I'm sure if you decide to, but I am not coming back. I am so sorry dad. I love you guys so much, but my heart is already shattered badly. I can't survive any longer on the strength of _possibly_ and _maybe_. I have to know for sure one way or the other.

Believe me, I don't want to give up International Rescue, and if I can find a way to live both lives, then I will return. But this pain in my heart is intolerable, and if I can find a way to help it to heal, then I have no choice.

I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I love you.

Virgil"


	11. Chasing Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whilst Kayo is out chasing shadows, Virgil finds himself in trouble . . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has been so long between updates. Honest, there was a good reason. Anyway, please enjoy.

Manor House Care facility sat on the edge of a neo modern village in the middle of County Wicklow. It sat surrounded by its own grounds lush with apple trees, blackberry and gooseberry bushes, wild strawberries and the most incredible array of wildflowers Kayo had ever seen anywhere. It was stunningly beautiful.

The entire grounds had the air of being allowed to grow wild and do its own thing. What told Kayo that this was in fact a carefully cultivated look was the complete absence of weeds. Her own father had been an expert gardener and he had shared a lot of his expertise with her before his death. Gardening was not really something that had ever interested Kayo herself, but she remembered enough of her father's teachings to know that this garden was tended by skillful hands.

The main path from the gate to the door was paved in stone, wide and straight, making access easy and smooth. When she rounded the bend and saw the house, she paused briefly to take it in.

It was a large, squared off, four-story house in red brick. The windows were large, adorned with curtains and draperies, giving the place the impression of a luxurious private home rather than an official care facility. The main door opened as she approached, and a young man smiled at her. She judged him to be about Scott's age, with a thick thatch of straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes that looked searchingly at her.

"Good afternoon Miss…?"

"Tracy."

"Miss Tracy…?" the young man was clearly searching for more information. Kayo stopped in front of him.

"I am Tanusha Kyrano Tracy. I have an appointment with the manager."

The man half smiled and shook his head.

"You can't do Miss, because the manager is not here today. Can I ask you the purpose of your visit?"

"You can ask me, but I can only discuss it with the duty manager."

"Very well Miss Tracy Tanusha, I will see if he's free right now."

He turned away, and Kayo rolled her eyes and followed him.

The interior of the building was impressive. Professional in décor, light, airy and minimalist in nature.

The young man led her along a hallway and up a flight of stairs whereupon he knocked on a door. A deep bass voice answered from inside.

"Enter."

The young man put his head in and Kayo heard him speak in a low voice. There was an answering rumble, and the door was opened wide.

"Mister Walter James, deputy manager here at Manor House. Miss Tracy Tanusha."

Kayo stepped inside, and the door was closed behind her.

The individual inside the room was not sitting behind a desk, but stood against the window, with a large encyclopedia in his hands. He was about six feet six in Kayo's estimation; not fat by any means, but stocky and well built. His red hair was slightly longer than convention, but neatly trimmed and combed, his mustache and beard, also well-trimmed, was so large and bushy that his eyes and mouth seemed dwarfed. He was wearing a white polo shirt and grey flannel trousers. He held out his hand to her.

"Good to meet you Miss Tracy Tanusha. Wally James. How can I be of service?"

She let him shake her by the hand.

"Thank you for seeing me, Mister James. My name is actually Tanusha Kyrano Tracy."

There was a spark of recognition there.

"Miss Tracy huh? My sister works for Tracy Industries in London. No connection by chance? Just curious."

Kayo controlled her impatience and smiled tightly.

"Yes. Jeff Tracy is my father, but my business here is totally unconnected to my father's company. I am trying to trace a child who was born in 2039 in Cork; and was brought here supposedly the following year after the death of her parents in a car crash. Would you be able to help me to find the details from that time?"

Mister James nodded.

"Of course. We keep copies of the records that are sent to the storage vault in Cork."

Kayo nodded.

"Yes, I have examined the stored information there, which says that the child, or rather, children I am searching for were born in Cork in November 2039. Twin girls. The one was healthy save for slight jaundice; whilst the other is described as having been born with a serious heart defect. Can you tell me if both girls were brought here, or just one of them? If the sicker twin died quickly as he doctors seemed positive would happen, then only the stronger twin would have made it here."

He crossed the room to his reams of bookshelves and ran his finger along the tomes lined up along the top shelf. Presently he pulled one down and took it to the table.

"Alright, this is admissions in 2040…let me see…April did you say?"

He rifled through the book and stabbed a page.

"April! First…second…third…still nothing…"

He continued to search through each day of the month and paused, his finger resting on one particular entry.

"Here, April eighth, an ambulance arrived here with twin girls fresh from hospital. Amelia and Sonia Warren, five months old, orphaned just the day before. They had been checked out in hospital and given the okay. Yes, there is a note that Sonia Warren was smaller and less developed than her twin. She had been identified as suffering a rare heart defect that at the time was being successfully treated with drugs whilst she waited for a suitable donor for a transplant."

He looked up.

"The notification here says that no one wanted to adopt twins when one of them was given a limited life span of only about three years or so. Surprisingly though, it was the sick twin, Sonia whom was adopted first by a Scottish couple. A month later her twin was also adopted."

"Can you tell me the names of the people who adopted them?"

He shook his head.

"Not without written permission or a court order. Sorry Miss Tracy. Personal files are just that. Personal."

Kayo nodded. At least one of her questions had been answered.

"I understand. I can return with the necessary permissions if need be. Is there anyone still working here who might remember the twins? Not for confidential information you understand, just their impressions of the babies?"

Mister James shook his head.

"Not anymore. Audrey Hockney is the one you want, but she retired three years ago. She is now living in comparative luxury with her daughter and son-in-law in the South of England. The New Forest."

"I see. Thanks, perhaps I will look her up. Finally, can you tell me if you ever receive any further news or updates on any of the children who have passed through here, once they have been adopted?"

He answered with a crooked smile.

"We try and keep in touch. We encourage the new parents of the young children, and the older children who usually end up in foster homes to keep in touch with us. We are interested in their welfare, and we are here to help them with any problem or issue they may be facing."

"Would you be permitted to tell me whether you ever received any updates from young Sonia's adoptive parents? Can you at least confirm that the child…or young lady I suppose she would be now is doing alright?"

Mister James regarded her for a long moment, his brow furrowed.

"Miss Tracy, I am not permitted to tell you, but there may be other ways for you to find that information. May I ask why you want to know?"

Kayo considered for a moment, then have a half-grin.

"My adoptive father, as you know, is Jeff Tracy…the multi-billionaire? He is always concerned whenever any of us bring home a boyfriend or girlfriend in case they are gold-diggers, you know. My brother has gone gooey over this girl he met and I'm under orders to check out her story, being as it is a slightly more unusual one. Also, I believe if she turns out to be okay, a family friend wants to make her a personal assistant or something."

"Isn't it more usual for someone like Jeff Tracy to use professional detectives when he wants to check someone out?"

"That depends on what information you are after, Mister James. Well, I won't take up any more of your valuable time. Thank you for agreeing to see me. I appreciate your help."

Kayo made her way out of the house and back down the long drive to the main gate. Once out of sight from the house and the road, she pressed her comm.

"Kayo to John Tracy, Come in."

"John here. What is it, Kayo?"

"Are you in your control room?"

"Sure am. What do you need?"

"The address of someone called Audrey Hockney. Apparently once worked at the Manor Care Home in County Wicklow in Ireland, and now is apparently retired and living with family somewhere in the New Forest, in Hampshire, England."

"Right away Kayo. Stand by…"

Kayo pressed a button on her wrist-controller and about fifty yards away, the Shadow shimmered into existence. She climbed aboard and reset the camouflage program once more.

"John Tracy to Kayo."

"Kayo here."

"I found the address Kayo, but you're not going to get much information out of her I'm afraid."

"Is she dead?"

John nodded.

"I'm sorry, Kayo. She passed away three weeks ago. Stroke."

Kayo sighed.

"Alright, thanks anyway John. Looks like I'm at a dead end here for the time being."

"Well, there is one thing you could do for us, Kayo. Go check on Virgil."

Kayo's eyebrows raised high.

"Virgil? Isn't he on Tracy Island?"

John shook his head.

"He's just taken Tracy One…the one you _didn't_ ditch into the sea a few weeks ago…and taken off, leaving behind a note of farewell and a smashed console."

Kayo's jaw dropped.

" _Virgil!?_ "

"He's hurting a lot. What would _you_ do in his place?"

"How mad is father about Virgil running off like that?"

John shook his head.

"He's not mad really. He's worried. Virgil is usually the rock, the one who grounds us all, but he is not himself. He was doing so well before the girl came along and turned his head."

"From what I hear, John, she did nothing to turn his head except exist. I'm told that she even turned him down when he expressed an interest in her. It doesn't sound like she has done anything wrong at this point."

"Did you find out anything about her?" John asked, switching tack. Kayo sighed.

"I confirmed that Amelia…Connie as she was definitely did have a twin sister. The thing is, the twin, Sonia was born with a very serious heart problem, and even with a heart transplant, was not expected to live much beyond the age of three. So, if this Bonnie is Connie's twin, what about the heart problem? She apparently was born with a genetic defect of the body that wears down the heart very quickly. She would need repeated heart transplants…approximately one every three years or so in order survive. Even then she would be weak, and dependent on drugs to keep her healthily active. Is it likely?"

John looked troubled.

"Kayo, I really don't like where this seems to be going. If it is unlikely that she is the missing twin, who else could she be? I would connect with Lady P and see what she has found. Then, could you please go to London, and watch out for Virgil for us? Just in case there is something sinister going on, I would rather you were there where the action is."

"FAB!"

Kayo disconnected, then called Lady Penelope. Although the aristocrat's voice rang cheerfully, the pleasant smile on the screen looked faintly troubled.

"Kayo, hello. Any success your end?"

"Limited, Lady Penelope."

Kayo recounted to Lady Penelope what she had discovered so far. Penelope nodded when she learned about the existence of the twin and the inherited heart defect.

"That fits in with what we discovered on Orkney." She replied. "We spoke to Bonnie's school headmaster. Bonnie Cain is a former pupil at that school who now works for an island care home somewhere. She is a very attractive dark-skinned girl, half-Nigerian. Her Nigerian father Dominic Cain and his brother Joel travelled to Orkney for work apparently, loved it so much and decided to stay and fell in love with a couple of local girls. Her father's brother Joel and his wife Darcy were unable to have children of their own and they tried to adopt a baby, but there were none for adoption in Britain at the time. They travelled to Ireland and adopted a little girl called Sonia Warren who was sick with some kind of heart problem. The poor child was waiting for a transplant but died before the operation could take place. The child was less than two years old when she passed away."

"So, if that girl at your garden party is not the real Bonnie Cain, who is she, Penny? Who is it that Virgil has stolen dad's jet and dashed to London to see?"

Penny blinked.

"Virgil's left Tracy Island? That girl seemed…seems completely sincere. I would have sworn that she was not up to anything underhand. But if she is not who she claims to be…"

"Then this…her appearance…perhaps even Connie's death might have been engineered as some sort of elaborate trap to lure Virgil away from Tracy Island."

Penny nodded.

"But why Virgil? Why him in particular? It makes no sense."

But Kayo's eyes looked bleak.

"Penny, who is the main operator of International Rescue? Without Virgil, we are only half as strong and half as efficient. Virgil's expertise is so important, what would International Rescue be without him? And with us being back on line in a few days…?"

Penny's expression hardened.

"Only one man I know of us so determined to weaken and destroy International Rescue. He tried destroying us directly and it didn't work. So, why not try by the back door, sneakily luring everyone into his lair? Kayo, we need to find Bonnie, and Virgil, fast!"

Kayo nodded.

"On it! See you in London!"

"We're on our way! Step on it, Parker!"

As the two women raced through the skies towards him, Virgil exited the Tracy hangar at London airport, and stepped into the waiting transport.

"The Palace Hotel." He said briefly, as dumped his bags beside him and slumped back against the seat."

"Right you are sir."

Virgil was rubbing his eyes, so he did not notice the light of recognition in the driver's eyes as he doffed his cap, and he missed the man's grin of glee as they sped away from the airport, into the busy city traffic.

He could not claim to know London as well as Penelope, but he had flown into London airport numerous times, both as a member of International Rescue, and as the civilian son of billionaire Jeff Tracy in his private jet. He knew the way from the airport to the hotel like the back of his hand. Due to his father's frequent trips to London on business in the past, he had a permanent suite at the Palace Hotel that he and his sons used whenever they were in the area.

This was not the way to the Palace Hotel.

He rubbed his eyes again. Surely London cab drivers were supposed to be among the best around, weren't they? They all had intimate knowledge of London and all its roads and districts, all the short-cuts…but no short-cut was needed for the Palace Hotel. Just a single stretch of road. Where in hell was this guy going?

Virgil leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder.

"The _Palace_ Hotel I said. It's back the other way."

The man shot a grin over his shoulder.

"You ain't goin' to no Palace, mate."

Nervously, Virgil grabbed his holdall and put the long strap across his body. Desperately hoping his suspicions were erroneous, Virgil tried again in a reasonable tone.

"No, I don't mean _the_ Palace! I just need the hotel on Main Street, about ten blocks down from the private entrance to the airport."

The cab driver replied using a rude word and an equally rude gesture with his left hand, whilst with his right he flicked a switch that locked all the doors and windows.

Slowly, Virgil nodded to himself. He could see the driver watching him in his mirror. Play up, he told himself.

"Where are you taking me? What do you want with me?"

"Shut it mate. I'm just a delivery boy."

His heart pounding, Virgil leaned back against the headrest, his mind racing furiously. He was International Rescue. What would Scott do at this point?

Gathering himself mentally, taking care not to give himself away outwardly, Virgil assumed a worried expression, that was not entirely faked, and waited for his moment.

The car reached a more open road with less vehicles parked along the kerb. It was a busy district full of banks, burger bars and jeweler's shops. He waited until the traffic lights had just turned green, and they were turning left at the corner. Virgil leapt forward and drove his fist hard into the back of the man's head. The man gave a grunt and fell forward over the steering wheel, unconscious, his foot going down on the accelerator. The car careened out of control and smashed head on into the red brick building on the corner. Horrified onlookers watched as the cab's momentum caused it to upend itself, and finish on its side, smashed and broken beyond repair, wheels spinning.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

FAB1 arrived to find a scene of devastation, where a cab driver had smashed his cab into the corner of the Post Office building, on a busy intersection. Kayo was already there, talking earnestly with a police officer. The entire accident scene had been cordoned off, and the officer was refusing to allow Kayo to pass the cordon. The police officer recognized Lady Penelope straight away, and raised the cordon, knowing that if he did not, she would only need to make a simple telephone call, and he would thereafter be ordered to do so. She smiled lightly and inclined her head.

"Thank you, officer. Come along, Kayo."

Kayo glanced briefly at the officer; and followed Penny and Parker through the police cordon and to the accident scene. Kayo frowned.

"Are the victims in hospital already?" she asked, seeing the car, still on its side, was empty. "How long ago did the accident happen?"

Lady Penelope had already approached one of the investigating officers. Kayo joined her.

"We are still speaking to witnesses." The officer was explaining, "and it seems, lady Penelope, that the cab driver was unconscious when he drove into the wall. Bystanders report than an unmarked ambulance was on scene within two minutes, loading two patients into the back. That same ambulance was already leaving the scene as we arrived. We have officers attempting to trace that vehicle as we speak."

"So, it was not a legitimate ambulance then?"

The officer shook his head.

"If you mean was it an NHS ambulance that would be customarily called to an accident scene, then no. It must have been a private one. There are private health schemes and private hospitals with their own fleet of ambulances even in England, although they are not customarily equipped to deal with this type of emergency."

Lady Penelope looked thoughtful.

"But officer, if both the driver of this cab _and_ his passenger were unconscious, who would call a private hospital for an ambulance? They would surely simply dial 999 emergency, in the normal way…wouldn't they?"

"How likely is it that a private ambulance just happens along at the right moment and picks up our accident victims. Did this unmarked ambulance not take them to an NHS hospital?" Kayo added.

The police officer shook his head.

"Not a sign of it since it sped away."

Kayo touched the aristocrat's shoulder.

"Penny, father asked Eos to try and keep track of Virgil, just to make sure that he was alright. She reports that he was definitely in this cab. His watch signal stopped operating just a minute or so after the accident. She has no idea where he is now."

Penny nodded.

"If his watch has stopped sending a signal, it means one of two things…"

"Yes." Kayo looked worried. "Either the signal has been blocked or broken, or…"

"Or Virgil is dead."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Blackness.

Pain and flashing lights.

More blessed blackness.

Pain, white-hot and blinding. Plus, something else…someone talking…saying something…if only they would shut up, Virgil thought. The sound entered his ears with a harshness like that of sandpaper being dragged around his head. He wanted the blackness back, but the voice would not shut up. Would not let him sleep. Kept bothering him, whispering, tapping his cheek. His head hurt so much, the constant tapping on his cheek felt like he was being clobbered with a baseball bat.

He tried to move his head away from the tapping fingers, and the persistent voice, but they held him, gently but firmly.

Gradually he became aware of the world outside of the pain. He was lying on something hard and uncomfortable, but his head was resting against something soft and warm, yielding flesh that smelt vaguely of vanilla.

"Ungh..wha…?" he managed, trying to move. Gentle hands restrained him. A face leant forward. His eyes were closed. The light was too bright to open them, but he could feel warm breath on his cheek.

"Just lie still for a bit. You were in an accident. You've been hurt."

That voice! Virgil would know that voice anywhere. In spite of the agony raging through his skull, his eyes sprang open, and he looked into the lovely face of Connie.

No, Connie was dead. Bonnie, then.

"Help me to sit up."

With clear reluctance, she did so, and he finally managed to squint at his surroundings.

He had expected to be still lying in the road in the wreck of the car, or failing that, on some hard trolley in the back of an ambulance.

He was laying…no, sitting now, on the cold, stone floor of a small cell-like room. The walls and floor were of grey stone, the ceiling once white was also greying and patchy. A tiny window high up showed the tiniest sliver of daylight, and the only door was clearly made of thick, studded metal. It was closed and, presumably, locked.

Damn. clearly whoever had been behind his attempted kidnapping had been close by after all. Rather than being rescued by emergency services, he was a prisoner after all. And worse off than he would have been, to judge by the red-hot hammer blows still raging inside his head. His companion supported him firmly, as the concussion made its presence felt in the most violent and unpleasant manner, leaving his head pounding even harder, tears in the corners of his eyes and the most disgusting after-taste of the vomit in his mouth. His companion ran her fingers through his hair until the reactive trembling eased, and he leaned back against the hard, stone wall. Finally, he turned to his companion.

"Bonnie, I…where are we? And what are you doing here?"

She fished in a pocket and brought out a torch and flicked it on. He winced, shielding his eyes. He could see her more clearly now. But something was wrong. This was Connie…Bonnie…and yet it wasn't. She was too short. That was it. Connie… and Bonnie too were five feet five in height. This girl was considerably under five foot. Closer to four feet eight or nine at a guess. Otherwise, she was as identical to Connie as Bonnie was. The girl gave him a sad smile.

"Sorry, I don't know anyone called Bonnie. My name is Isla Bennett."


	12. In The Lion's Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An injured Virgil finds himself a prisoner, and faced with yet another living reminder of his late fiancée. Meanwhile, Kayo has a plan for finding him . . .

Virgil stared at his companion.

"Isla Bennett?"

"Yes. Do you have a name?"

Virgil rubbed his painful head, swallowing down his nausea. He nodded, wondering if his head was really going to fall off.

"Yes."

That was all he could manage for now. Talking meant opening his mouth, and right now, that seemed too dangerous. He clamped his lips closed and followed suit with his eyes. It didn't help.

Isla Bennett seemed, if anything, slightly amused.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Would you like to tell me what it is?"

"Tell you what _what_ is?"

"Your name! Unless you want me to call you `Oi You!'"

"Doesn't matter. Call me Joan of Arc if you want to. Where in hell are we? And who are you?"

He opened his eyes in time to catch her surprised expression.

"And here I thought you were a nice guy."

Virgil tired of the verbal tennis.

"I _am_ a nice guy who has been abducted by god knows who and locked up somewhere with a concussion and…feels like a broken rib or two…sprained wrist…and yet _another_ …person who looks just like Connie. I am almost at the end of my rope, so please just… _talk to me_. Tell me why I'm here!"

To her credit, Isla seemed sympathetic.

"Alright then. I don't know the answer to all your questions, but I'll tell you what I do know. Deal? And since you seem disinclined to tell me your real name, I'll invent one for you. I'll call you Engelbert."

"Engelbert?" Virgil repeated in disbelief. She grinned at him.

"Don't like it? You can supply a better one."

She waited, but her companion just stared at her. Not even angrily, just…tired and sore…and probably scared. She nodded.

"Alright, if you don't like Engelbert, I'll go with Edgar."

Virgil shuddered, repressing another urge to vomit.

"Fine, whatever. Where are we, and why do you look like Connie?"

"Connie? Didn't you call me Bonnie just now?"

"My mistake, but you look like her. She is a little taller, but otherwise you could be the same person."

Isla stared down at her shorter than usual stature sadly.

"I'm told I had some sort of virus when I was a baby that sent my whole system out of whack. Since then, my body has always had trouble absorbing the nutrients it needed, and it stunted my growth. I assure you, I'm perfectly normal otherwise."

"Yes, but your face is identical to two other women! Why?"

Isla looked down at her hands.

"Eight years ago…I was still a kid at school, my parents moved to a new city because of work, and I was enrolled in the local comprehensive school. The first day of my second week I happened to be next to another girl in the dinner queue. Aside from the fact that she was taller and more developed than me, we could've been identical twins. It was spooky. She told me her name was Eleanor Weaver. Her parents were Irish, and they had moved to Bristol just for the year whilst her father worked some contract or other. We became good friends of course, and we tried to find out if we really were secret twins that had been separated or something."

"And were you?"

Isla shook her head.

"We don't even have the same birthday. She was born in Dublin in February, I was born in Manchester in August, and we even had birth certificates and everything to prove that neither of us was or had ever been a twin."

Virgil frowned.

"What did your parents say?"

"Thought it was a strange coincidence, but not much more than that. Not long after that, Ellie's father finished his contract and they moved back to Ireland. I decided that I would study genetics when I left school so that I could learn for myself whether it is possible for two people to be born so exactly identical that are not related to each other at all."

"So you did?"

"Actually, no. My parents were not well off, and needed me to go to work. They couldn't afford to support me whilst I went to college or university or anything, and uni fees in this country cost a fortune these days."

Virgil's sore head was whirling.

"So how did you end up in here with a guy who has met two more lookalikes?"

"I started asking questions. Whenever I had free time, I turned detective. I went to clinics and hospitals, visited geneticists and scientists and picked their brains about how it could have happened, or how to find out more. Eventually I met someone who told me that the world's leading geneticist was a guy named Professor Lucius Tock, and if the answers were out there, he was the one to give them to me."

"Did you visit him?"

Isla nodded.

"Apparently he ran a special clinic from the east wing of a special children's care home in County Wicklow…the Manor House Care Home."

Virgil frowned.

"What sort of clinic?"

"I don't know. When I went there, I was told that Professor Tock passed away three years earlier, and that his clinic had been dismantled, the space given over to the children for an in-house infirmary. They wouldn't tell me anything else. At the time I thought I had run into a brick wall, but two days later, I went to bed in my hotel room and woke up in here. I've been here ever since."

Virgil rubbed his eyes.

"So now there are four lookalikes." He muttered to himself.

"Come again?"

Virgil felt his eyes becoming heavy. He fought to stay awake.

"I had a…good friend, Connie, who died a year ago. A few weeks ago, I met someone at a party called Bonnie who was identical to Connie in every way. Now you are here, and you tell me about someone called Eleanor who is also identical."

"So that's why you called me `Bonnie'? So there are four of us who look exactly the same? Why am I having trouble believing that this is real?" Isla looked truly bewildered. Virgil moved to reach into his jacket pocket and yelped in pain.

"Ouch! I guess add a wrenched arm to the list of injuries. Isla, in my inside pocket you will find a paper photograph."

She could feel his wallet in there too; and resisted the impulse to take it out and look for his name. She touched what felt like a photograph and took it out.

"I had this printed out before I left home." He told her. "That is a picture of my late...my friend Connie."

Isla looked at the stunning woman in the picture, recognizing the facial features and the hair colour as her own, but nothing else.

"Wow." Was all she could find to say. "She was your wife, wasn't she, Edgar? Edgar?"

Her handsome, injured companion had lost consciousness.

TAG

Work on the new Thunderbird Five had all but ground to a halt at the news of Virgil's abduction.

John and Eos were in constant contact, pooling their resources to scour the planet as best they could to find the missing Tracy.

Scott paced up and down the lounge, chewing his knuckles and getting on everyone's nerves. When Gordon and Grandma had arrived home from their supply run, in her fear and worry, grandma resorted to her default coping mechanism. Baking. Gordon dived into the pool, and powered up and down, up and down. Jeff locked himself in his office, his phone glued to his ear, raising all hell all over the world to anyone who would listen.

Jeff Tracy being whom and _what_ he was, there were plenty of people willing to listen.

Alan, having no default of his own, and no one currently willing to listen to his worries either, hid away in Virgil's bedroom, staring forlornly at the paintings and drawings that covered every inch of wall space, hoping desperately that the artist himself would be back here soon, to add to their number.

He had curled himself up into a ball on Virgil's pillows, his face buried in his arms, when his watch bleeped. To his surprise, it was a personal call.

Kayo.

He stared in surprise and hastily wiped at his eyes. Kayo did not seem to have noticed.

"Alan, hi. I thought I would check in. How are you all doing back there?"

"Kayo! Have you found my big brother yet?"

"if I had you'd be talking to him, Al. I just wanted to make sure you are okay. I know what happens on Tracy Island when something bad happens. Scott worries and paces, grandma bakes, John trawls the internet, Gordon swims, father rings the president and Alan Tracy hides himself away to suffer alone. But this is not the time for any of us to be alone."

"Virgil is."

"Alan, listen to me." Her face was calm, her eyes compelling as always. Alan found himself looking at her.

"Alan, we will find him. We already know who's got him after all."

"We do?"

She raised her eyebrows, and he nodded resignedly.

"You mean The Hood. You're sure it's him?"

"Of course. Who else?"

"You're right. How are you going to find him?"

She smiled slyly.

"Oh, that will be easy." She replied.

* * *

Parker pushed the tea trolley into her Ladyship's drawing room and poured out the tea.

"Are you sure this plan of Miss Kyrano's will work, Milady?" he asked as he handed Penelope the cup. He was not reassured by the pregnant pause before she answered.

"I think it may work, Parker, but I also think it is incredibly risky. I think Kayo is in a hurry to find Virgil, and I suspect I know why."

"Milady?"

"Jeff and the other boys are hoping that Virgil will remember to swallow his personal transmitter so that they will be able to trace him. Kayo thinks that Virgil may not swallow it, whether he remembers or not. He will be afraid of his abduction being nothing more than a trap, a lure to bring the rest of International Rescue into captivity. Then the captors…presumably the Hood…would be free to stroll on to Tracy Island and take charge of everything, the Thunderbirds included."

Parker nodded.

"Well, the Hood knows how to find Tracy Island now."

"Precisely, but with the family there, the security is too high. The risk to him would be too great. The thing is, John and Eos are also searching using every method they have available, and Kayo is afraid that when they do find a probable location, the boys may still spring the trap. She is hoping that with this plan, we can find and rescue Virgil without putting the rest of the family into danger."

"Us on the other 'and Milady?"

Lady Penelope smirked at him.

"Nervous, Parker?"

Parker look immediately blasé.

"Me, Milady? Never. More tea?"

Kayo flew Thunderbird Shadow low over the Malayan jungle, her cloaking device fully activated. She had stopped by briefly at base to refuel, and had taken the opportunity to reassure the family that she and Lady Penelope had a plan and that the best thing they could do was nothing at all but sit back, relax and wait for her to contact them again.

They were, understandably, not happy at the prospect, and Kayo knew that they would only have the patience to wait for so long, before they took matters into their own hands, regardless of her plans. Their closeness as a family, as far as they were concerned, precluded `sitting about doing nothing'. She was a member of the family and had been for some time. She felt very close to them, and the boys all thought the world of her. She knew they did. Nonetheless, she knew that she would never quite reach the same level of closeness with her adoptive brothers than they had developed with one another over the years. Virgil was in trouble, so they all were, and that was that. They all hurt. She had no time to lose.

She knew this place well. She had not been back here for years, but she remembered this part of the jungle well. Her father's family had had property here for years, in the large clearing just ahead.

She put Shadow down on the edge of the clearing and reactivated the cloak remotely once she had disembarked. In front of her was the old `temple' as she had always thought of it. A place she had loathed as a small child. She stomped purposefully towards it, assailed by memories.

The building was sumptuous. It was a slightly grander reflection of the family estate that had been destroyed in the 'quake. The very event that had sent The Hood off into a spiral of hatred against International Rescue in the first place. Kayo knew that her uncle did not really have a home in the conventional sense; but if he did, this was it. This was the place he customarily returned to. She suspected to reinforce his anger and reasons for his campaigns of terror against the Tracys.

Her family now.

Her natural father had loved and cared for this place. Then the Hood had demanded the family villa as his own. Dad had never been materialistic; and had had no objection to sharing his family home with his possessive brother. Her uncle had assumed ownerships rights to the entire estate however, and dad had raised no objection, reasoning that people were more important than things. He and his daughter had remained there to care for the place until the quake had destroyed everything. The Thunderbirds had saved her and her father…or rather, Jeff Tracy had in his very first, somewhat experimental Thunderbird.

How long ago all of that seemed now. She had been very young. She and her father had lost their home, and their rescuer had offered them both a home and a new life.

What Kayo would not do to save them would fit on the head of a pin.

She approached the front doors. They were steadfastly locked. She had no key, but there was no keyhole in evidence anywhere. She frowned and scoured the surface of the door and the surrounding posts. Finally she spotted a panel set into the wood. She pressed it and a small door swung open. An optical sensor and a fingerprint plate. She allowed the sensor to scan her left eye, then placed the palm of her hand on the sensor plate. There was a pause, and a slightly mechanical voice responded with what might have passed as robotic enthusiasm.

"Welcome Tanusha Kyrano."

The door swung open and Kayo stepped inside.

* * *

Someone was slapping him. He wished they would stop, but he did not have the energy to complain. The slapping continued, but now there was a soft voice at the same time.

"Wake up now. Come on Edgar, wake up!"

Who was Edgar? Why was this person slapping him if they wanted this person Edgar?

"'M not Edgar. Leave m'alone." He muttered. The slapping came again.

"Come on, you have to wake up, or you'll only get sicker than you are. Come on, open your eyes!"

If he had had the strength, he knew he would have grabbed that hand slapping his face and held it, but he couldn't be bothered. It was too comfy here, where his headache was gone, and darkness danced around the fringes of his mind, inviting him with its silence. He decided it was just what he needed and started to succumb to its allure. The gently tapping fingers became harsh and insistent, the voice louder and edged with panic.

"No! Edgar, you have to stay here with me and fight. You don't get to escape that easily. Come on now, what will your family say to me if they find us and I've let you go, huh? Come on, open your eyes Ed, I won't shut up until you wake up, so you might as well open your eyes right now!"

Edgar again? Someone clearly seemed to be under the impression that _he_ was this Edgar. Perhaps if he could wake up and explain their mistake, they would go away and leave him to sleep?

Rousing himself was harder than he had expected, and he found himself almost swimming upwards against a tide of exhaustion and pain before a blinding light assaulted his eyes, and he screwed them up tightly again.

The voice returned, but this time without that constant, annoying tapping.

"Come on Edgar, that's it, your eyes will get used to the light. It's only dim. Come on now, wake up. That's it."

"Mmm Not Edgar!" he moaned again, this time managing to open his eyes and keep them open. He looked up into the face of Isla once again. As she smiled at him, memory painfully returned. She also looked relieved.

"I almost lost you there Edgar!" she said, sounding slightly fearful. "I'm no kind of a medic, but one thing I do know is that someone with a head injury like yours must try and keep awake until they can get proper medical assistance. It took me ages to get you to respond to me."

He blinked again, and for some reason, the only thought that he could keep in his mind was how much he hated the name _Edgar_.

"I'm not Edgar!" he said again, more forcefully this time. She smiled.

"Well, would you prefer Mister, or Oi You?"

"Virgil." He said slowly, as though running out of breath. "I'm…I'm Virgil."

Her eyes narrowed fractionally, before opening with barely stifled amusement.

"Really? Virgil? You somehow don't look like a Virgil."

Virgil raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? And what does a Virgil look like in your world?"

"Ummm…well, you know the kind of kid at school who is always reading, wears thick lensed glasses and can never catch a ball? A kind of social misfit, but highly intelligent, carries his books in his arms and never gets the punchline of a joke?"

Virgil rolled his eyes, then regretted it as his headache reemerged painfully.

"Sounds to me like you watch too many films."

She grinned.

"Well you did ask. I've often thought that parents ought to hold off naming their kids until the kids grow up a bit, and then choose a name that fits."

"I get it. You would rather call me Edgar, is that it?"

"Actually, I would rather call you Virgil. The _Edgar_ was supposed to get on your nerves and make you want to tell me your real name. Virgil _is_ real isn't it? I mean you're not secretly called _John_ or _Eric_ or something are you?"

"Nope. John is my brother, and there is no Eric. So how long have we been stuck in here now?"

"About five hours."

"Five? How long was I asleep?

"Too long, Virgil. As I said, it took me ages to wake you up. I was scared you would go into a coma or something."

"I think I nearly did. Has anyone come in here at all? Anyone?"

She shook her head.

"I've been in here alone for a month so far, and seen no one since the first day. Every so often I have woken up to find a tray of food and water placed just inside the door, and the two buckets over there emptied and returned."

He glanced to his left and saw the pool of vomit where he had been sick earlier had been covered by a thin layer of sand. He glanced back at his companion, who shrugged.

"One empty bucket for when we need to…you know. The other with the sand is to cover whatever is in the other bucket to prevent smells. I thought it would be better for both of us if I covered your…if I sprinkled sand there too. I can feel sorry for someone who is being ill, but I really don't have the strongest stomach for that kind of thing."

"I have a concussion…it is likely to happen again. I'll try and aim for the bucket next time though."

She gave a rueful smile.

"Just make sure you don't hit the wrong bucket, or we will be in trouble!"

* * *

The Kyrano temple was as sumptuous and decadent as she remembered. Silk and satin draperies, colourful statues and idols, huge armchairs and cushions that you could drown yourself in surrounded by a diffused light that had no definable source. Certainly, there were no windows, and no obvious lightbulbs or lanterns in evidence.

Kayo strode purposefully through the elaborate furnishings and up the wide curved staircase with the ugly carvings. At the top was verandah looking out over the jungle on one side, and a wide landing with a balustrade over the hallways below. At the far end of the landing was a door. Kayo strode purposefully towards the door, and to her surprise, found it unlocked. Swinging it open, she stepped inside.


	13. Kayo's Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayo returns to her family's ancient temple and makes one or two discoveries . . .

Kayo stepped into a large, almost baronial hall. The words sumptuous and decadent seemed too pale for the level of luxury here. Kayo loathed it. She always had done. Skirting round the perimeter of the room, she made her way to the furthest corner, where a statue of a short, fat, grumpy looking man sitting on a log sat surrounded by tall piles of cushions. Kayo peered at the statue, then poked it in the eye.

Instantly, the eye retracted, and a bright beam flashed out, scanning her from head to toe. There was a soft click, and Kayo smiled. Ducking behind the piles of cushions, she found a small section of paneling had swung aside, just large enough for her to squeeze through on her hands and knees. The panel closed behind her. She crawled for a long time, until the tunnel eventually ended in a small room.

The room was barely larger than a medium sized wardrobe. It had been built by her father when he had been a young boy; pursued and bullied by his older brother, this had been his sanctuary. Then it had been young Tanusha's. Her father had once told her that his brother knew that the young Kyrano had his own special hiding place in the old family temple, but he had never been able to find it. Kayo prayed that the Hood was still ignorant of its whereabouts, or its secret entrance.

This room contained Kayo's biggest secret. Her personal computer.

She had built it herself when she was younger, for one purpose only. She smiled to herself as she activated it and pressed her eye to the optical scanner.

"Welcome home, Tanusha." The voice was her father's. It was not her father of course, but recreated from a voiceprint her father had given her. She sat on the stool in front of the screen.

"Thank you, Tee-Kay. People call me Kayo now."

"Would like me to enter that into my data-banks?"

"Affirmative. Tee-Kay, when is the last time my uncle was here?"

"Your uncle has never been in this room Kayo."

"I mean when is the last time he returned to this building or its vicinity?"

"The last time I tracked him in this area was approximately three months ago."

Kayo thought hard. That would have been about the time he had last escaped from the GDF in the Tasman Sea. The last time anyone had seen or heard of him.

"Was he here for very long?"

"Two weeks."

"Have you continued tracking him?"

"Affirmative."

"Where is he at this precise moment?"

"He is about to walk through the front door of this building."

Kayo swore under her breath. The computer, known as Tee-Kay did not respond. She raised her eyes.

"Tee-Kay, you have been monitoring my uncle's movements since I was last here."

"Affirmative."

"In the past few days, has he been in London, or anywhere near it?"

"Negative."

"Has he been in close connection with someone who has been in London recently?"

"That information is not available."

"How convenient." She replied, rolling her eyes. "Tee-Kay, I need you to send out a spread of sensor activity throughout the United Kingdom."

"You wish me to inform you if The Hood returns to the United Kingdom?"

"Yes. My adoptive brother Virgil has been taken and I am certain that the people who have taken him are in collusion with my uncle. I need to find Virgil before he…before he malfunctions permanently."

"Perhaps if you were to give me a sample of Virgil's DNA profile, I could search for him directly."

"I don't have access to his DNA profile, and if I were to ask for that information, I would be required to explain the reason. That would involve revealing your existence."

"And you do not wish to reveal my existence?"

"Actually, I would love to reveal your existence, but my uncle is obsessed with obtaining the technology possessed by my adoptive family. If I were to relocate you to Tracy Island, you would become a part of his obsession. He has already invaded Tracy Island once."

"My sensors indicate that you have communicator technology. You could link me into your network. That way you would have access without the necessity of coming here in person whenever you require my assistance."

"I would need Brains' help to do that. I don't quite have the knowledge to be able to set up that kind of a link that the Hood could not access."

"You would not need to. The Hood has no knowledge of my global sensor probe network, and without my assistance, no means to find them or interpret them. If I give you the information you require to tap into my network, you could communicate directly with my probes. By your terms it would be similar to the way humans use a remote control to activate tele-visual equipment."

Kayo thought hard about that.

"You mean that by accessing your probes, I could send you a request and you would receive it, find the information and broadcast your response through the probe network?"

"Affirmative."

"I am still a little uncomfortable about that. Humans are progressing very quickly every day Tee-Kay, and I am certain that any lack they may have now to detect your sensor probes will not be a lack for very long. But there might be another way. You have the ability to communicate with others like yourself?"

"Affirmative, although I have not had the occasion to do so."

Kayo nodded. She thought she knew of an artificial lifeform whom would be happy to fulfill that function; and the advantage of Eos was that she fully understood the concept and need for high level security. Eos could communicate with Tee-Kay, either through his sensor-network, or directly by maneuvering her Thunderbird _Rover_ to a geostational orbit above the jungle. That way, if the Hood ever did discover Tee-Kay's sensors, he would not be able to follow any signals back to Tracy Island or any of their Thunderbirds. Theoretically he might be able to trace a signal back to the _Rover,_ but Eos had the power of instant download, and the _Rover_ would be replaceable within three days.

Kayo was silent for so long, that her computer switched itself down to standby mode. She tapped the screen, and it chirped back into life.

"Where is my uncle now?"

"He is sitting cross legged upon a pile of cushions in his private quarters."

"Now would be the time for me to go whilst I can then. Tee-Kay, will you give me that code you offered? I have a…an artificial life-form called Eos, who will be very eager to make your acquaintance, and she will be able to communicate with you safely. When I cannot come here I will communicate with you through Eos, using the same security as we use currently."

"Acknowledged Kayo. The code is a complex combination of binary figures and sound code. You will need to use your wrist control to keep an accurate record of it. Tell me when you are ready for me to transfer the data."

"Now."

A few seconds later, the transfer was complete.

"The Hood is still in his room Kayo. You should leave before he moves. If you lose your wrist control, you will be at risk of losing control of this unit."

"Very well Tee-Kay. Thank you. I will be in touch."

Kayo slipped back into the passageway, and finally reached the panel. She waited, listening carefully, but there was silence. She pressed the corner of the panel to make it slip noiselessly aside and crawled out. It replaced itself so that not even a seam could be seen. She slipped back into the shadows and hurried once again around the perimeter of the room, and to the door on to the landing. This was where she had to be extra quiet. The room down below…the main hall was the Hood's personal room. It always had been. She peered over the banister and her heart beat faster in her chest as she saw him down below, sitting cross legged, just as she had been warned. She could see the way the multi-coloured lights reflected off the top of his bald head.

She was silent-footed, but her uncle had the ears of a cat. He would surely catch her if she tried to sneak past him to get to the front door. What should she do?

She hesitated just a second too long. The Hood opened his eyes and looked up, just in time to see her head vanish from view.

"Well well well! We meet again Tanusha! This time right here in the Lion's Den. I wonder what you wanted from here? And even more interesting, is how will you get away from me this time?


	14. A Break In The Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing her search for the missing Virgil, Kayo returns to her family's ancient temple, only to run into her Uncle Trangh… The Hood himself....

Isla sat watching her companion carefully. His handsome face was dotted with beads of perspiration, and he was in pain still. He was nobly trying to hide the fact, but she could see it clearly through the way his eyes seemed to be gleaming extra brightly. He had vomited again on two more occasions but trying to get him to the vicinity of the bucket had hurt him so much, that she had regretfully decided that the only option was to move the bucket to him.

She had never suffered concussion before herself, and so could not really imagine the pain. But throwing up was almost her worst hate, and she had sat beside him, rubbing his back as he hung his head over the rim of the bucket. Finally, though, the vomiting seemed to be behind him, although his headache definitely was not.

She ached to ask him more questions, but he did not look to be in the mood. So, she did what she was able to make him as comfortable as possible. Once she had finally managed to push her embarrassment aside and used the bucket herself, she sat on the floor beside him with her back against the wall and rested his head on her knees. He opened his eyes and looked gratefully at her.

"Don't worry Isla. We won't be here forever."

"Really? So where will we be taken from here?"

"No, I mean we won't always be prisoners. We'll be found and released."

She shook her head despondently.

"No one even knows that I am missing. My parents won't miss me for another few weeks. They're away. I have no siblings."

"What about your friends?"

"I moved away from all my friends so that I could investigate…you know. None of them will be expecting to hear from me yet. I'm not terribly good at letter writing, and I could not afford to pay a telephone bill. Please tell me you have lots of friends and family who will be desperate to get you back and who will not leave any stone unturned in their search?"

Virgil managed to smile faintly.

"I have a father, four brothers and a sister who will be worrying desperately about me, and a network of friends and colleagues who will also be anxious to see me safe. We will be found. Believe me."

"The man who brought me here told me I would never be found in this place and so I should just make up my mind to deal with it."

Virgil shook his head, too weak to argue.

"We'll be fine…you'll see…"

His head lolled to one side, and Isla was troubled to see he had lost consciousness again. There surely had to be more to these bouts of unconsciousness than simply concussion? Was he hurt somewhere else? Internally perhaps, somewhere that didn't show? She found herself wishing that she knew something, anything about medicine. She had never even ever taken a first aid course. The little she knew about first aid she had happened to pick up in conversation with other people, or from casual reading. It had never occurred to her that she would ever find herself in a position where she would need it. She swore to herself that if she ever got out of this fix, she would take an advanced first aid course. Right away. She started to count slowly to herself; her only means of counting the passage of time. Once she had counted to one thousand, two hundred, she would wake him up again. That would give him twenty minutes or so. She did not dare let him sleep longer than that in case his hurts were more serious than she knew.

FAB

Kayo was momentarily stunned. It had been a calculated risk that she might run into her uncle here, although she had dismissed it in her mind as unlikely. Why had he returned here now?

In the five seconds she had wasted, he had made it to the top of the stairs and was standing in front of her, blocking her way back down to the ground level. He smiled at her in a creepy, twisted sort of way.

"You swore never to return here."

"Actually, I swore never to return to your side. There is a difference."

"I remember you always disliked this place, so why would you come here? What were you after?"

Kayo glanced around, searching for options, then noticed that to her right was an open balcony, leading to the forest floor down below.

"I came to talk to you."

"Why would you come here to talk to me, Tanusha?"

"Because you always come back here."

"It happens to be my home. It used to be yours."

"Not for a long time. I want to know what you are up to."

"Just now, I was meditating."

"Not just now. You've been up to something. Ever since the Tasman Sea you've been up to something else. I want to know what you're doing."

"So that you can run along to your International Rescue friends? or your friends in the GDF?"

"I know _what_ you have done, _Hood_. I need to know _why_."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Oh, you do? Please enlighten me. I love to be entertained."

"I know you have arranged for someone I care about to be abducted."

"And why do you suppose that it was me Tanusha? Do you really believe that I am the only person with a grudge against you and your friends?"

Kayo looked him in the eye and nodded.

"Yes. Every enemy we have faced so far have turned out to have your grubby hands or dirty money behind them. You are not able to get what you want yourself, so you hire other people to do your dirty work while you hide out of the way and… _meditate_!"

His eyes gleamed with anger.

"I have had enough of you and your friends, Tanusha. Always getting in the way. Always interfering. Whoever you believe I have taken, you will have to find and rescue for yourselves. But don't take too long. Who knows if he will still be waiting for you when you arrive if you take too long."

She stared at him, as a very large penny dropped with a nasty clatter.

"You don't want him at all. You don't give a damn about him, do you? He is simply a convenient lure, am I right? You want the Thunderbirds. That has always been what it has been about. Getting your grubby hands on the Thunderbirds; and if you can get International Rescue out of the way at the same time, so much the better."

The Hood's eyes glittered.

"Tell me more, Kayo." He took a step forward. She took an involuntary step back, and mentally berated herself for showing that momentary weakness.

"Do you remember before you were the Hood? You were my uncle Trangh?"

"I still am your uncle, Tanusha."

"Yes, but you haven't been my uncle Trangh for a long time. I remember you were the one who first taught me how to shoot the tail feathers from a pheasant."

"Your father was angry with me for taking you shooting. Your father was a fool. Pacifism gets no one anywhere. What would the world be like if everyone was a pacifist?"

Kayo huffed an ironic laugh.

"Well, in that case I guess _peace_ would break out."

"And no one would ever make any money. Wealth and power Tanusha. Those are the things that make the world go round."

"Is that why you hate Jeff Tracy so much? Because he made a lot of money, and that brought him power even though he wasn't even looking for it?"

"A man like Jeff Tracy has no idea what to do with power."

"You once told my friends that you didn't want to rule the world. Just own it. So, do you want money or power?"

"You're a foolish young woman. Money and ownership _is_ power! The most powerful man on the planet is the one that owns it. He doesn't have to go to the trouble of running the place. That involves a lot of hard work that is best left to servants. Just take the profits and give orders when you want something changed. Leave it to the bureaucrats to work out the details of how they are going to achieve what you want. So long as they deliver, what does it matter how they do it?"

"Even if it means the deaths of millions of people in wars?"

"People die every day Tanusha, just as people are born every day. That is the way of the world."

"It is not the way the world should be. It is people like you that give the human race a bad name. Where will I find him?"

"Come to me, and I will take you to him in person!"

He lunged towards her, and she took a running leap toward the balcony and bounded over it, pressing a button on her wrist control at the same moment. The Hood watched, dumbfounded, as seconds before his niece would have hit the ground with a splat, something he could neither see nor hear plucked her from mid-air and carried her away, high above the jungle canopy.

* * *

The Hood was seething with anger. There was more to his niece's visit than a desire to talk to him, he was sure. What could have been the reason for her return to this place?

He thought back to her childhood. Young Tin-Tin had never been inclined to come here to this place. She had always found it creepy. She had had an aversion to all the statues and sculptures in here, and the rich colours and fabrics had been too much for the child. She had much preferred the more plain and crisp design of the décor in their family villa on the edge of the forest.

That was not to say she had never come here. She had come here only when her father brought her. Why would his despised younger half-brother have brought his little girl here, to the family temple she had despised?

Immediately, the Hood remembered when they were children, he and his brother had played here. Later, when childhood playmates evolved into jealousy, his younger brother had hidden himself here, and the young Trangh had never, ever been able to find him. Kayo's father had been, annoyingly, a master as hiding. It was been clear that the younger boy had found himself a very clever and well- hidden hiding place. The sort of place perhaps, where he would hide his secrets? A determination settled over the Hood once again; certain that Kayo knew the secrets of her father's hiding place. That she would come here at a time like this indicated more clearly than ever that if he could find this hiding place, he would reap more than a simple hole in the wall.

Where could it be?

* * *

Kayo climbed into Shadow's cockpit and opened a com-link to Rover.

"Thunderbird Shadow to Thunderbird Rover, come in!"

"Thunderbird Rover responding!" came Eos' voice. "How can I help you, Thunderbird Shadow?"

"Can you first ensure that this communication is secure and triple encrypted?"

There was a pause, then Eos replied;

"Confirmed Thunderbird Shadow. Communication secure and triple encrypted. What is the trouble, Kayo?"

"Thank you, Eos. I have some information that for the time being I would like to remain between you and I alone. When she was still a teenager, my father's mother was forced to marry a man many times her senior, Marat Belagant, a wealthy man apparently, ruthless and greedy with a lust for power and domination. Their son Trangh inherited those characteristics."

"That sounds like your uncle, the Hood." Eos replied.

"Yes, it is. He is like his father it seems. But the marriage did not last for too long. When Trangh was six years old, his father was murdered by rivals, and my grandmother married the man she had always loved, Lorne Kyrano, and my father was born two years later. Mother had never loved her first husband, Eos, he was cruel and manipulative, and she had quickly learned that young Trangh was a bully. So, although she loved him, she loved my father more, and it was to my father that she shared her biggest secret. A secret hiding place in her family temple that had been passed down for seven generations."

"You want to tell me about your mother's secret hiding place?" Eos asked, confusion evident in her tone. Kayo shook her head, resisting the urge to grin. Eos would not understand the humour anyway.

"No Eos, but what few people have ever known, is that my grandmother was a very clever woman, and until her death, she and my father created, built and programmed a special computer that was hidden in that secret room. When his father sent him away to university, my father took the chance to ask for a year to travel, and that was when he took along and deployed a very large number of secret sensor probes connected to their secret computer. They are controlled by Tee-Kay…"

"Tee-Kay?"

"The name of the computer. Since my father's death, Tee-Kay answers to me, and answers to only my DNA code. Usually an optical scan is sufficient, but we have several layers of security in place just in case the Hood ever finds…"

"Is it likely the Hood will find Tee-Kay?"

"Not likely, but then again…"

"So, how would you like me to help? Since you are telling me about Tee-Kay, I am assuming you require me to communicate with him?"

"Exactly, Kayo. You have detailed DNA profiles on all members of International Rescue, do you not?"

"Affirmative."

"Tee-Kay has a world-wide array of sensor probes that my father deployed thirty or more years ago. That means that he has the means with which to scan and find Virgil, only…"

"Without an accurate DNA profile, he does not know what to look for. Kayo, I can connect with Tee-Kay if you give me the relevant security codes, but highly secure information regarding International Rescue may be at risk if I do so."

"No Eos, the codes he has given me are the codes to allow you to penetrate Tee-Kay's security. He will not have the means to penetrate yours if you employ a security lock-out to your own personal database. You will be free to communicate freely, and you can decide when and if to entrust Tee-Kay with classified information. I have not told him anything of a personal nature as yet. I want to be certain his location is secure first."

"If I communicate with Tee-Kay and provide him with a detailed profile of Virgil Tracy's DNA code, he will be able to scan the planet for the relevant life-sign displaying the correct profile and inform us of his location? That is likely to take a very long time."

"Tee-Kay has blanket control over all of his probes. That means he…"

"Sends the same search signal to every probe simultaneously?"

"Yes. Tee-Kay believes the search should take no more than a few minutes. Twenty, thirty at the outside."

Eos considered this new information. Strange that she had not detected any of these probes herself. She wondered in what form they existed, how they scanned and what frequency they used to communicate with Tee-Kay himself. Perhaps if she did commune with this computer, she would receive the answers. Kayo trusted this strange computer, and she trusted Kayo, completely. Yet, from what Kayo had told her, this computer was hidden within the Hood's own private jungle home. How could she ensure that he would not secretly find and control this computer without Kayo's knowledge?

Well, she had the means of more protection than Kayo had likely thought of.

"I will communicate with Tee-Kay and I will let you know the result of our cooperation. Please give me the codes, and I will prepare the necessary security for our connection."

Kayo transferred the data directly from her wrist-control. Eos was impressed at the complexity, and yet disappointed at the out-of-date coding that was used. Although, to be fair, if the computer had been created and programmed more than thirty years ago, the coding would have been impressively advanced for the time. Perhaps she and John together would be able to improve and update this computer's security and coding? After all, her own programming was always being updated.

Kayo heard Eos acknowledge the data upload, and then sign off. Nothing more she could do for the time being. All she could do now, was wait.

* * *

Alan appeared in the lounge, his face blotchy red and tear-streaked. He stood for a moment at the top of the steps as if uncertain where to go from there. Scott was beside him in a moment, an arm around his youngest brother's shoulders.

"How are you doin' Alan?"

"Kayo has a plan for finding Virgil."

Every ear pricked up, and a voice drifted up from the kitchen, followed closely by grandma herself.

"Say that again, Alan?"

"I said, Kayo has a plan. She just checked in. She says…"

John ran into the room from the back staircase, having just shuttled back from his hilltop control room. He almost skidded to a halt, causing a few raised eyebrows and stifled smirks.

"Eos is onto something!"

Jeff came out from his office and raised his eyebrows.

"What's the commotion? Any news of our boy yet?"

Alan and John both nodded, and both blurted out together;

"Eos is onto something!"

"Kayo is onto something!"

They looked at each other, both looking hopeful. Scott walked out onto the balcony and stared out to see, folding his arms across his chest. Slowly, the other members of the family including Brains drifted out and stood beside him.

"We're getting closer, Virgil. We're getting closer. Just hold on boy." Scott breathed.

* * *

An unknown distance away, locked in their cell, Isla sat huddled beside Virgil. He was awake and lucid, but they were both cold and shivering. The tiny slip of window high up in the wall, had lost its glass somehow, showering the two cowering prisoners. Water was started to seep slowly and surely into the room through the hole. Isla dismally watched as the pool of water on the floor of their cell started to spread across the floor towards them . . .


	15. A Ray Of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the Hood seeks to discover Kayo's secret, escape is becoming urgent for Virgil and Isla.

The Hood had tapped every inch of every wall in the place in the hope of finding a hollow sound.

Nothing.

He had prodded, poked, twisted, and even spoken to every knob, leaver, statue, everything he could find that just might prove to be the mechanism to open up…whatever it was that was hiding this…hidey hole so well.

Nothing.

Finally, he had found a measuring stick and a long tape measure and checked the dimensions of the building, inside and out, checked the thickness of the walls over the entire building. All the numbers matched.

No hidden room anywhere.

Where the hell was this hiding place that had eluded him for so long? There had to be somewhere he had not found, but every inch of space within the family temple was accounted for.

A hidden basement perhaps? The thought struck him with particular force, and he turned to stride off in search of a hidden entrance somewhere, either inside or outside the building. He paused. Tanusha had been _upstairs_ when he had seen her. Wherever she had been had been upstairs. Unlikely to be a basement room in that case.

He recalled she had informed him that she had called to speak to him. She was already here when he arrived, so she could quite conceivably have gone upstairs simply looking for him.

But why oh why would she come all the way here to see him in the first place?

A tiny voice in the back of his mind seemed to mock him

_Don't knock it; it worked, didn't it_?

The Hood sneered at himself. The answer was easy. Whatever it was she had come here for must be valuable, thereby making it highly desirable to acquire… whatever-it-was for himself. Or…deprive her of it. The only way of making sure that her secret, whatever it turned out to be, was forever lost to her would be to destroy it, by destroying the entire building.

He would enjoy getting one over on Kayo, but on the other hand, losing his home was not an option.

Was it?

He started to grin, as a plan formed in his mind.

He would have to move fast.

* * *

Where Eos was flying, she could see everything. She missed Thunderbird Five, and her regular and easy association with John Tracy. But then, on Thunderbird Five, she had been John's assistant. An important part of his life, but still an assistant. Here on Thunderbird Rover, she played a vital part within International Rescue. They had a problem or needed a task doing, they came to her.

It was her province, she felt, to keep her eyes on everything in the heaven, everything, all the probes, satellites, the International Space Station, and every scrap of useless metal that orbited earth. She could see them all. She had made a note of the position of every one of them, their orbital paths and any gravitational shifts that occurred. So it was that when one of the small orbiting satellites shifted in its orbit, Eos was immediately aware.

She was interested to note that it was the satellite that had been identified as formerly belonging to the Hood. He had used it as a relay to communicate instructions between his various forces around the world, before International Rescue and the GDF had put a stop to his scheme. The GDF had reportedly altered to programming of this satellite and encoded it to bring it under their control. Clearly, the Hood had his own failsafe device installed. She made a note to inform John that all satellites would have to be rechecked visually, to ensure they were clear of any override devices that would allow the Hood access.

She prepared her programming to interface with Kayo's computer Tee-Kay, whilst at the same time she set her course to follow the rogue satellite's new orbit. Where was it going, and why?

* * *

The rains had not stopped pouring outside, and the trickle of water coming in through the tiny window was still coming.

Virgil stared up at the window, with the water seeping in. How would water be coming in through a window in such a steady stream like that?

If the window was below the ground, a sort of basement window, then the rise in water level would increase exponentially as the rainfall continued. But if it was a low-level window, then surely given the angle, they would see at least something of the outside world, wouldn't they?

What could cause water seepage through a window that was not low lying? A ground floor room in a building built on a flood plain? Was it likely? The sort of place that experienced rising tidal or river levels and flash flooding in heavy rainfall. Many places had those characteristics in this day and age, with land at such a premium that men had seen fit to build in high flood-risk areas. What else?

Perhaps something simple, like a first-floor window that looked out on to a flat roof with blocked guttering. Unlikely maybe, but that might explain why the trickle had remained as a trickle and not become a torrent in itself.

The puddle of water on the floor of their room was still spreading slowly towards them, but it seemed likely that since the doorway was between them and the window, and the puddle was indeed creeping along the wall, it might find an outlet through the gap under the door before it reached their corner of the room.

Maybe.

His companion shifted suddenly and awoke. She smacked her lips a couple of times, staring at the water seeping in through the window and down the wall.

"Do you suppose it is clean water, Virgil?"

"Doubt it, but better dirty water than no water. How long since someone had brought us anything?"

She shrugged.

"Dunno. How long have I been asleep? I feel like I have swallowed the Sahara, so it must be at least a day."

"Well I was just thinking this water will be seeping out under the door soon, so maybe whoever is out there will realize it and…"

He noticed her staring at him with a hopeless look in her eye and stopped.

"What?"

"No one will come. They've left us here to die."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Its been three days since anyone has brought any food in here, and…we're going to die aren't we? They've abandoned us, and no one will ever find us here, and we'll die of thirst if we don't drown."

Virgil raised an eyebrow at her, and she frowned.

"What are you looking at me like that for? I'm right!"

"Water, water everywhere and never a drop to drink? Is that it?"

She nodded.

"Something like that."

"Isla, that applies to people lost at sea. We are hardly lost at sea. I wonder if I can stand up?"

"You need to rest."

"Rest can wait."

"But you're hurt."

"Well it will hardly make any difference if we both die will it? Help me up."

Isla took his hands in hers, marvelling at the size and strength she felt in them, and the rough callouses she could feel. This was a man who knew how to work hard. She hauled as hard as she could. He was a lot heavier than he looked, but between them, they got him to his feet. She stood beside him, supporting his weight until he managed to steady himself. He was gritting his teeth hard.

"Ok, you'll have to help me here."

She followed him to the wall under the window and they both stood looking up at it. She looked regretfully at him.

"If you're thinking of trying to see what is out that window, I'm not sure I would be able to hold you up."

Virgil considered her shorter-than-normal stature, and his well-muscled physique and nodded. She was right.

"Can you climb?"

Her eyebrows raised.

"Huh?"

"I think I have a couple of cracked or broken ribs, so I doubt I could pick you up without doing more damage, but I can hold you up if you are able to climb up me. See if you can climb on to my shoulders and see out of the window."

She nodded uncertainly, and as he planted his fists on to his hips, arms akimbo to give her something to grab hold of, she grabbed his elbows with both her hands, planted her foot on his right knee and pulled herself up. Slowly and vaguely apologetically she managed to climb his body as if he were a short tree until she was standing on his shoulders, facing the wall. She looked up. The window was still above her head. She could just touch the windowsill with her fingertips.

"Can you see?" Virgil grunted from below.

"I'm too sh…I mean vertically challenged!"

Virgil grinned.

"Me too. I'm the shortest of my brothers…except for the youngest, and he hasn't had his growth spurt yet. He's just fourteen. Now if Scott were here…"

He heaved a sigh and called upwards again.

"Isla, look. Can you reach the window at all?"

"I can just grip the sill with the tips of my fingers but I'm not strong enough to pull myself up."

Virgil braced himself and gritted his teeth once more, knowing that this was going to hurt.

"Alright, I am going to place my hands under the soles of your feet and grip you by the ankles. Balance yourself against the wall as I push you up and tell me when you can see outside. Describe what you see. Try to forget about getting wet for the time being."

"Okay, I'm ready."

Virgil gripped her ankles tightly and as he pushed up, he felt the unbearable strain on his ribcage and let out an involuntary yell of agony. His grip however, did not falter. Isla blenched at the sound of his yell, and as she felt the windowsill becoming firmer beneath her hands, she pulled herself up until suddenly she found her companion had virtually catapulted her right up on to the sill. She grabbed the broken edge of the window, grimacing at the scratches on her hand, and pulled her knees up behind her. Now, she was kneeling on the windowsill and poking her head through the narrow gap. She just about had enough space to crawl through. Looking up, Virgil saw her feet disappearing through the hole, and called up to her.

"What can you see? Where are we? What's out there?"

Isla stared around herself in shock.

She was standing in a clearing, surrounded by jungle. Behind her were the flattened, burnt out remains of what must once have been a fine building. The window she had crawled out of was all that remained of the building, part of a ground floor rear wall, with stone steps that led down to an underground room. Clearly, there was a complex of rooms under this destroyed building, because she certainly had not gone in through this window. He knelt down and peered back in at her companion.

"Virgil, we're in the middle of a jungle. Should I go around and try to find the way through that locked door?"

He shook his head.

"No, because whoever brought us here might still be around, and we don't want you to get caught."

"But I can't escape through a jungle!"

Virgil kicked off his left shoe and picked it up.

"Isla, catch my shoe."

He threw it, and she caught it, and stared at it, puzzled.

"Thanks Virgil, just what I have always wanted. A man's shoe!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Push the heel to the left. You will find a capsule inside there. You want to run through the jungle, head towards the sun and keep in as straight a line as you can. Just keep going. Once you are at least two miles away, swallow it, then find yourself somewhere safe to hide…a tree or a bush or something, and stay put. Is that clear?"

She nodded.

"Okay, but what…?"

He shook his head.

"Don't ask questions, just do it, and remember to swallow the capsule whole. Don't whatever you do chew on it. Just swallow it. Swear to me?"

"I swear, but what about you?"

"I'll be fine, especially if you do as I tell you. Go!"

She hesitated, and a line appeared between his eyes.

"Go!" he commanded. Isla nodded.

"I'll get help!"

She turned and ran.


	16. Bonnie Cain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Penelope makes some interesting discoveries. . .

"I wish we could just do something!"

Alan Tracy pounded his fist into his palm as he watched Gordon pounding away in the pool, up and down. His older brother John put his arm around his shoulders.

"I know Squirt. I feel the same way."

"If only Virgil would use his edible transmitter, we…" Alan's voice petered out and he glanced at his brother. "He carries one with him wherever he goes, doesn't he?"

John nodded.

"If he hasn't taken it, then it means he is fine, or that for some reason he doesn't want us to rescue him. Perhaps because of a trap."

"Or he's tied up and can't reach it."

"Either way, all we can do is wait. We have our agents on every continent searching for him. Whoever has him won't stay hidden forever…and we have some aces up our sleeve. Eos and Kayo…"

Alan nodded. Kayo and her secret seemed about their best bet.

* * *

Lady Penelope looked up from her notebook as the clanging of the doorbell rang throughout the mansion. She half smiled. She could hear Parker hurrying to answer the door, and closed her book, sitting up straight and prepared to greet her visitor. A moment later, Parker opened the library door.

"Miss Bonnie Cain, Milady."

"Thank you, Parker. Some tea if you will; and bring three cups."

She glanced up and caught her butler's eye. Parker nodded fractionally, and then replied formally,

"At once Milady."

Once Parker had gone to attend to the tea, Lady Penelope advanced to greet her guest.

"It is good of you to come along at such short notice to visit me, my dear."

Bonnie seemed uncertain whether to curtsey or kiss the lady's hand or simply shake it. In the end she simply nodded awkwardly.

"A pleasure, Lady Penelope; although I was…I am a little curious as to why you asked me to come to see you out of the blue like this."

"It is always pleasant to have the company of friends for afternoon tea, Miss Cain."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed slightly in puzzlement.

"I am honoured that you consider me a friend my lady, but do I not come more in the region of _business associate_?"

Lady Penelope laughed lightly.

"I suppose you do, but the only people I am exposed to socially are people of wealth and position, who really have no idea what the world is like for those around them. If they were the only people I ever conversed with, my view of the world would be considerably more limited. I prefer to see the world as it _really_ is. One way to do that is by befriending members of the local community."

"Such as someone like me? So why do you pursue friendships with someone like Jeff Tracy? One cannot get any more privileged than him. The richest man in the world, isn't he?"

"Reportedly. Jeff is an exception to the rule. He is wealthy now, but he was not always so. He has known extreme hardships himself in his time, and his boys…"

Bonnie nodded, thinking back to the garden party, and the Tracy family she had met.

"Yes…the operators of International Rescue apparently. That would make Jeff Tracy the head of it, wouldn't it? I suppose a man would have to be as wealthy as he is to be able to afford to set up an organization like that."

"Perhaps, but I really would rather not talk about Jeff Tracy. He is an old friend, and that is all. Ah, Parker, thank you."

Bonnie looked around as Parker brought in a silver tray with the teapot and three cups and saucers, milk, sugar and lemon all sitting invitingly in their silver pots. Lady Penelope poured out three cups, and handed one to Bonnie, and picked up her own.

"Parker, please take a cup and join us for tea."

Parker looked extremely ill-at-ease, but he knew what her ladyship was about. This was, after all, International Rescue business. His place was here by her side. He picked up his tea, plied it with sugar and milk, then took his place behind her ladyship's chair, slightly to her right. Bonnie frowned as she saw that the butler was not leaving them to drink their tea alone. Not that she cared particularly whether Parker was in the room or not, but wasn't this atypical behaviour for an aristocratic household with a servant? She started to squirm uncomfortably in her seat under their studied gaze, and took refuge in formula, sipping her tea and sighing in a slightly dramatic manner.

"Hmm, thank you for the tea. It is really delicious."

Penelope sipped her tea, and briefly considered commenting on the weather, but decided that to put things off any longer would be a waste of time. Bonnie was clearly not fooled that this was an ordinary social call. If it was, they would surely be in the lounge or the summer house. Here in the library, even though it was a large and relatively airy room, the atmosphere was slightly oppressive, and smelt vaguely of old books. She put her cup and saucer back on the tray.

"There was something Parker and I wished to tell you."

Here it was. Bonnie was sure that her hostess had been telling the truth about befriending _common people_ , the phrase she had studiously avoided using, but a _common person_ such as herself was never very likely to feel at home with an aristocrat when summoned suddenly to come to tea in the middle of the week and on arrival being ushered into a musty old library. She smiled all the same and waited.

"Is everything alright?"

"Do you remember meeting Virgil Tracy at my garden party the other week?"

Did she remember? Did she remember! The most gorgeous hunk she had met in…forever, and he had fainted dead away at the first sight of her! After recovering, he had asked her out! She remembered her heart hammering in her chest, screaming at her to leap into his arms for joy, whilst at the same time her brain had taken control, cutting short what would have certainly become for him a huge disappointment, and for her, a huge heartbreak.

She had been dreaming of him ever since. Even the memory of him made her heart beat faster. She nodded demurely.

"Yes, I do recall meeting the man who fainted at your party, Lady Penelope. He later told me that I was the living image of his dead fiancée."

Penelope nodded.

"He asked you out, and you turned him down I understand? I know that is not really my business to ask, but would you mind telling me why you turned him down when it was obvious that you…er…liked him?"

"Because he wasn't seeing me, Lady Penelope. He was looking at me but seeing his dead lady friend. I could never hope to compete with a ghost, and I have no intention of trying." She smiled to herself. "A pity though…I could have drowned in those eyes."

Penelope glanced at Parker, who nodded subtly. She turned back to Bonnie.

"Well, apparently, Virgil was unable to get you out of his mind either. For his part you are likely correct. You really are very, very like Connie. Virgil returned home and went back to work, but in the end his heart ruled his head and he got into his father's plane and flew back here to London."

"He…he did?"

Penelope nodded.

"He did. As you might gather, he was running back here to you to try and get you to change your mind about seeing him."

"So why haven't seen him? Do you have him stashed away in a back room somewhere?"

Penelope shook her head and turned to look at Parker, who put down his cup and took a step forward.

"Mister Virgil was kidnapped h'as soon h'as 'e h'arrived Miss Bonnie. 'E parked 'is plane at the 'angar h'at the h'airport and got in a taxi. No one h'as seen 'im since."

"He's disappeared? Why? How?" Bonnie was frowning. Her hostess was shaking her lovely head.

"No, Bonnie. He was kidnapped. His family are frantic. Since you are the unwitting cause of his disappearance, I thought you would want to know what has happened."

Bonnie stared at them, her face white with shock. No, it couldn't be true! It was surely a mistake? A cruel joke gone wrong? But the faces of her hosts made it plain that this was no joke.

To Parker's chagrin and Lady Penelope's consternation, she suddenly burst into tears. Parker's huge white handkerchief was thrust into her hands, and she buried her face in it, emerging a while later red faced and bleary-eyed. Penelope was now sitting beside her on the library sofa, and Parker was crouching before her, plying her with cold water.

Once she had recovered herself somewhat, she shuddered, and tried to explain herself.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean any harm! I didn't! I was offered a new start, and I grabbed it with both hands. All I had to do was…oh my gosh, poor Virgil…it's all my fault. I'm so sorry Lady Penelope…I've never hurt anyone in my whole life…I never even kill spiders! What have I done?"

Penny took her hands in her own.

"Bonnie, Bonnie! None of us believed you were the sort to hurt anyone, but a few weeks ago, Parker and I travelled to the Orkney Islands to check you out. With the Tracy boys it is a common thing…"

"Oh, you mean fortune-hunters?"

Penny nodded.

"Among other things. We discovered that there is a Bonnie Cain living and working in the Orkney Islands. She is a very pleasant girl and is most definitely not you. So, who are you really?"

Bonnie sniffed.

"I picked out the name Bonnie Cain at random from a directory at the local library." She told them. "I've never been to the Orkneys. I'm just good at accents, and always have been."

"So, who are you really?"

"My real name is Sally Wendall. I was born in Belfast and grew up in Glasgow from the age of nine. I was out of work for a couple of years after leaving school. I took some training courses at the local college and started working with charities…mostly for experience in the workplace. Eighteen months ago, I was made the treasurer of our local branch of the charity, and we were doing really well."

"What happened?"

"Some money went missing. I'm not a thief, Lady Penelope, but as the treasurer, and main key-holder, all the evidence seemed to point at me. I was dismissed from my position and charged with the theft of thirty thousand pounds. I was terrified of what would happen to me. I was scared of prison, and I knew no one would ever trust me again. My life seemed ruined! I was innocent but had no way to prove it. Then someone…one of the guys who had been working with the charity for a few weeks told me that he worked for a man who had important connections and could get me declared innocent."

Penelope and Parker exchanged glances.

"But?" Parker prompted. `Bonnie' looked up at him.

"His friend needed someone with my talents to help out at a charity in London. All I had to do was go to London under a different name."

"Were there any other instructions you were given?"

`Bonnie' nodded sadly.

"I was told that the charity I would be working for in London was patroned by some rather influential people. He simply said I should be friendly and make sure I was amenable and helpful, so that our wealthy patron would take a liking to me."

"The wealthy patron being me I suppose?"

She shrugged.

"The man never said. He just told me that I would be in a position to be noticed by important people and that I should always be grateful and not…and not…"

"And not?"

"And not blab about the help I was given. The man with the connections would not want to be identified or thanked in person…"

Bonnie blinked at her two companions.

"I suppose someone who wanted to kidnap Virgil Tracy and who knew about his…about Connie…would see me and see an opportunity. And I fell for it because I was desperate!"

Penelope looked at Parker.

"If that `man with the connections' was the Hood, then he would have had one of his minions deal with Sally Wendall here. Persuade her to become Bonnie and move over here into a place where sooner or later Virgil was likely to meet her."

"Then Miss Bonnie 'ere is a setup, just like we thought?"

Penelope nodded.

"It would seem so." She turned to the young woman.

"It would appear that the robbery was deliberately staged to make you want to run. You were `set up' as Parker put it, and so was I. I noticed your hard work, and the way you related so well to the victims you help, and I took a liking to you and invited you here. Definitely the Hood behind all of this, and clearly along time in the planning."

"But…"

"Yes, Miss Sally?"

Bonnie glanced at Parker, who smiled gently at her.

"Now we know who you really h'are, lets call you by your own name Miss Sally. 'Er Ladyship can 'elp you with the legal stuff later. She really does 'ave 'igh connections you know."

Sally Wendall nodded reluctantly.

"It's such a mess. But I was going to ask…this Hood person you talked about, how could he plan something like this a long time ahead? What are the chances of anyone looking so much like Virgil's girlfriend? I mean, it's not even as though we were twins or anything."

Penelope smiled sadly.

"That is a part of the puzzle we still have to find out. Miss Connie Hayes was adopted as a young child, but she did originally have a twin sister. A fraternal twin who looked alike, but died when she was very young."

"Adopted? Both she and her twin?"

Penelope nodded.

"Yes. A friend of ours discovered that fact. They were adopted from a place in Ireland called The Manor House Care facility in County Wicklow."

Sally frowned.

"That's a strange coincidence."

"What is?"

"My mother…she had cancer when she was very young, and the treatment left her infertile. She said that she and daddy were desperate for a child of their own, but they did not qualify to adopt…they were too poor or too old or something. She said that the last place they went to for advice was the Manor House care facility in Wicklow. They were put in touch with a scientist called Professor Lucius Tock. He was apparently experimenting with some new form of artificial insemination or something and was looking for willing subjects. My parents agreed to join his project. She told me that just three weeks later she found that she was pregnant with me."

Lady Penelope and Parker stared at one another. This was something that just had to be looked into.

Professor Lucius Tock? Just the thing to get John's research skills going. Lady Penelope stood up.

"Alright, Sally. You carry on at work as Bonnie Cain for the time being, until we can get all of this sorted out. We need to find out about this mysterious professor of yours, and we still need to find and rescue Virgil. Parker, bring the car around."

Parker nodded and left. Sally stood up.

"Lady Penelope…will I go to prison?"

Penny grasped her right hand in between her own.

"If you have been telling the truth…"

Sally nodded vigorously. Penny smiled.

"…then you are as much a victim as Virgil. Hold tight girl, and we'll sort things out. As Parker said, I do have one or two high connections…"

Once Bonnie/Sally had left, Lady Penelope exited the mansion and opened her compact.

"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward to International Rescue. Come in."

Jeff's face appeared almost at once.

"Hello Penelope. You have news for us?"

Penny smiled.

"Hello Jeff. Kayo is pursuing some leads of her own. I have just made one or two interesting discoveries and I have some people to see. Can you do me a favour? I need John to do some deep digging into a scientist called Professor Lucius Tock. Can he please find out everything he can about this professor and get back to me?"

Jeff Tracy nodded, baffled but encouraged.

"FAB Penelope. Tracy Island out."


End file.
